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ERROR'S  CHAINS: 

HOW   FORGED  AND  BROKEN. 


A    COMPLETE,  GRAPHIC,  AND   COMPARATIVE  HISTORY  OF  THE 
MANY  STRANGE  BELIEFS,   SUPERSTITIOUS   PRACTICES,  DO- 
MESTIC   PECULIARITIES,    SACRED  ^A/RITINGS,    SYSTEMS 
OF  PHILOSOPHY,  LEGENDS  AND  TRADITIONS,  CUS- 
TOMS AND  HABITS  OF  MANKIND  THROUGHOUT 
THE  WORLD,   ANCIENT    AND    MODERN. 


BY  FRANK  S.  DOBBINS, 

Of  Yokohama,  Japan. 


ASSISTED   BY 


Hon.  S.  Wells  Williams,  LL.D.,  and  Prof.  Isaac  Hall,  LL.B.,  Ph.D. 

The  former  forty  years  resident  in   China,  no7u  Prof,  in    Yale  College,  Conn.,  Pret- 

ident  of  the  Avterican  Bible  Society,  etc. ;  the  latter  an  eminent  Orient' 

alist  and  late  Professor  of  the  College  at  Beirut,  Syria. 


THE  WHOLE   PROFUSELY   ILLUSTRATED 

FROM  AUTHENTIC  ASD  TRUSTWORTHY  AUTHORITIES. 


NEW  YORK : 
STANDARD   PUBLISHING   HOUSE. 

1883. 


Copyright,  Frank  S.  Dobbivs,  iSiij. 


6L 
■go 


PREFACE. 


THE  Story  of  the  world's  worship  is  a  story  of  absorbing  interest. 
The  odd  and  the  curious,  the  enchanting  and  the  revolting  are 
each  factors  of  heathen  devotion.  We  well  remember  with  what 
exhaustless  interest  we  looked  in  childhood  at  strange  pictures  of  idols 
and  temples,  and  listened  to  the  reading  of  tales  about  the  heathen. 
When  the  celebrated  Dr.  Alexander  Duff  was  a  little  boy,  his  father 
was  accustomed  on  Sabbath  afternoons  to  show  him  pictures  of  idols, 
and  to  explain  their  histories.  So  vividly  did  the  pictures  and  their 
stories  impress  the  boy,  that  when  he  became  a  man  he  left  Scotland 
and  went  to  labor  for  the  heathen  of  India. 

The  subject  is  indeed  intensely  interesting.  Every  nation  has  its 
God,  or  gods,  and  its  corresponding  forms  of  worship.  Nothing  lies 
so  close  to  the  heart  of  mankind  as  its  religious  faith.  Religion  in 
some  form  is  interwoven  with  the  entire  fabric  of  human  history.  It 
concerns  man's  dearest  pleasures,  his  fondest  hopes,  and  his  highest 
aspirations.  Man  must  worship.  It  is  part  of  his  nature  to  worship. 
Hence,  from  the  most  civilized  European  to  the  half-civilized  China- 
man, and  even  down  to  the  degraded  Hottentot;  in  all  stages  of  man's 
existence,  among  all  races  and  classes,  some  form  of  worship  is  found. 
Nothing  surely  can  interest  us  more  than  the  story  of  that  faith  in 
which  our  fellow-creatures  have  lived  and  died. 

It  is  because  the  author  believes  that  the  subject  of  false  gods  and 
idol  worship  is  so  interesting,  and  because  he  hopes  to  furnish  some 
much-needed  information  on  this  topic,  that  he  has  undertaken  the 
present  work.  There  is  no  one  book  that  covers  this  ground.  There 
are  many  volumes  covering  various  phases  of  the  religious  systems  of 
heathendom,  but  there  is  not  one  that  deals  comprehensively  with  all 
religions,  extinct  or  existing,  except  indeed  it  be  those  suited  only  to 
students  and  to  learned  men. 

The  aim  in  this  volume  is  to  present  the  subject  in  a  popular  style, 
suited  to  the  average  reader  of  our  land.     It  is  proposed  to  make  a 


-<*st     *     .#  ■' 


vi  PREFACE. 

book  to  be  read  in  the  family  and  by  the  fireside.  The  very  best 
works  of  the  most  thorough  students  of  the  non-Christian  religious 
systems  have  been  consulted,  and  the  author  has  freely  availed  him- 
self of  the  results  of  their  labors.  If  due  acknowledgment  is  not 
always  made  of  the  aid  thus  received,  it  is  because  he  deemed  it  best  not 
to  multiply  references  and  because  he  has  so  frequently  found  it  neces- 
sary to  translate  scholastic  and  technical  phrases  used  by  these  authors 
into  language  familiar  to  the  general  reader. 

Among  those  whose  works  the  author  has  consulted  are.  Max  Miiller 
and  Hardwicke  on  Comparative  Mythology ;  Wilkinson  on  the  Ancient 
Egyptians ;  Lenormant  on  Assyria  and  Babylon;  Haug  on  the  Parsees; 
Monier  Williams  on  Hinduism;  Rhys-Davids,  and  Barthelemy  St. 
Hilaire  on  Buddhism,  and  Edwin  Arnold's  paraphrase  of  Buddha's 
life  in  his  "Light  of  Asia;"  Humboldt  on  Central  America;  School- 
craft on  the  American  Indians ;  Wyatt  Gill  and  Lord  Grey  on  the  Pacific 
Islands;  Legge,  Edkins  and  S.  Wells  Williams  on  the  Chinese;  Griffis 
and  Sir  Edward  Reed  on  Japan  ;  and  Stanley  and  Livingstone  on 
Africa.  Beside  these  he  has  derived  great  help  from  "  The  Tour  of 
the  World  with  General  Grant,"  and  Dr.  H.  M.  Field's  "From 
Egypt  to  Japan."  In  addition  he  has  consulted  quite  a  host  of  other 
authors  'in  works  of  travel,  and  in  the  translations  of  various  sacred 
books. 

In  all  parts  of  his  work  the  author  has  sought  to  present  definite  in- 
formation, carefully  arranged,  truthfully  told,  and  clearly  and  inter- 
estingly stated.  He  has  aimed  to  show  the  origin,  development  and 
spread  of  each  non-Christian  religious  system;  and  to  give  an  ac- 
count of  their  gods  and  goddesses,  temples,  shrines,  idols,  sacred 
places,  superstitious  customs,  legends,  myths,  domestic  worship  and 
the  innumerable  peculiarities  of  their  daily  religious  life. 

The  work  is  fully  illustrated  by  accurate,  and  in  many  cases,  expen- 
sive engravings.  The  book  is  not  made  merely  to  sell.  Sensational 
statements  and  mere  padding  have  been  neither  added  nor  borrowed. 
The  author  has  not  drawn  upon  his  imagination  in  the  least.  He  ha? 
told  a  story  which,  though  sometimes  stranger  than  fiction,  is  never- 
theless  solid  fact  and  not  baseless  fancy.  Let  it  be  remembered  thai 
this  is  a  pioneer  work.  The  author  has  had  to  blaze  his  pathway 
through  a  trackless  forest.  He  has  had  no  guide.  He  sincerely 
hopes  that  by  its  perusal  his  readers  will  be  led  to  an  increased  ap- 
preciation of  the  infinite  superiority  of  Christianity  to  all  other  re- 
ligions; and  that  they  may  find  a  deepened  interest  in  the  welfare  ot 
the  heathen  world. 


PREFACE. 


Vll 


It  has  been  the  purpose  of  the  author  and  the  publishers  to  place  the 
subject-matter  of  this  volume  within  the  ready  reach  of  all  who  con- 
sult it.  An  exhaustive  Table  of  Contents  has  been  given  therefore, 
in  which  the  chapter  titles  and  all  the  sub-headings  of  the  chapters 
will  be  found.  A  full  index  of  the  proper  names  and  principal  topics 
of  the  book  is  also  added,  by  means  of  which  it  is  believed  any  desired 
subject  treated  in  the  volume  can  readily  be  found.  By  such  means 
as  these  the  book  has  been  made  as  complete  and  as  useful  as  patient 
labor  can  make  it. 

Thanks  are  specially  due  to  Professor  Isaac  H.  Hall,  who  not  only  gave 
careful  consideration  to  the  subjects  specially  under  his  care,  but  who  in 
addition  read  all  the  MS.,  and  gave  the  benefit  of  his  extended  learn- 
ing and  excellent  judgment  at  every  point.  To  Professor  S.  Wells 
Williams  also,  the  author  desires  to  make  public  acknowledgment. 
Though  burdened  with  many  onerous  duties,  yet  he  gave  his  closest 
attention  to  the  chapters  on  those  much  misunderstood  nations,  China 
and  Japan,  and  from  the  rich  stores  of  his  own  extensive  and  well- 
digested  knowledge,  he  made  such  suggestions  as  proved  of  inesti- 
mable value. 

To  the  Publishers,  who  were  ever  ready  to  meet  the  author's  largest 
desires,  his  thanks  are  especially  due.  Without  such  generous  sup- 
port the  volume  must  have  fallen  far  below  its  present  excellence.  In- 
deed, all  concerned  in  the  production  of  the  book  have  proved  them- 
selves true  helpers,  to  whom  author  and  readers  alike  will  be  largely 
indebted. 

F.  S.  Dobbins. 


CONTENTS. 


FAGH 

Preface, ^ 

List  of  Illustrations,         .        .        .        .        .        .        .        ,        .        '17 


CHAPTER  I. 

The  World's  First  Worship. 

Testimony  of  an  old  record  and  of  language — Another  witness:  comparative 
religion — The  story  of  the  master  thief — The  story  of  Rhampsinitos — The  story 
of  the  poor  mason — The  story  of  the  shifty  lad — Exodus  of  the  nations,  .     33 

CHAPTER  H. 

Whence  came  the  many  Gods  and  Idols? 

Sources  of  information — The  transition — The  firrt  hymns  and  prayers — Where  did 
idol-worship  come  from, 47 

CHAPTER  III. 

Sacred  and  Heathen  Traditions. 

Traditions  of  Creation — Traditions  of  the  Deluge — The  Chaldean  story — The 
Hindu  tradition — The  Chinese  tradition — The  Mexican  legend — The  Fiji- 
Islander's  tradition — American  Indian  traditions — The  Greek  story — Chaldean 
story  of  the  Tower  of  Babel — What  has  the  Bible  to  say  about  idolatry  ?  .     63 

CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Subject  in  a  Nutshell. 

Methods  of  grouping  religions — Dead  religions  and  living  religions — Original 
religions  and  reformed  religions — Dead  religions — Living  worships — The  pro- 
posed treatment — A  concise  view — Parseeism — African  religion — Western  Eu- 
rope— The  Southern  migration — Buddhism — China's  religions — Shintoism  in 
Japan — Mohammedanism — Christianity's  conquests, 77 


X  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  V. 

The  Land  of  the  Sphinx. 

PAGE 

Hidden  history — The  hieroglyphics — Some  Egyptian  gods — Animal  worship — 
Mummies — The  celebrated  book  of  the  dead — Egyptian  worship,    .         .         -93 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Worship  of  the  Chaldeans. 

The  great  Chaldean  historian — Ruined  monuments — A  library  of  brick  books — 
Manners  and  customs — The  religion  of  Assyria — The  supreme  god,  Ilu — The 
Assyrian  triad — The  gods  of  the  planets — The  great  goddess  Ishtar — The 
Genii  of  Assyria — Worship  of  the  gods  at  Babylon,        .         .         ,        .         .119 

CHAPTER  VH. 

Idolatry  among  the  Jews. 

The  plagues  and  Egyptian  idolatry — The  golden  calf — Baal-worship,  o        .138 

CHAPTER  Vni. 

Greece. 

Origin  of  the  world  and  of  the  gods — The  generations  of  the  gods — Gods  of  the 
Grecians — Specimen  stories  from  Greek  mythology — Hermes  and  Apollo — 
The  Lotus-eaters  and  the  Cyclops — Hercules'  twelve  tasks — The  Phidian 
Jupiter — Grecian  temples  and  \\orship  of  Paul's  day — The  city  crowded  with 
idols — Diana  of  the  Ephesians, .         .         .150 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Rome. 

The  Etruscan  religion — The  Sabellian  religion — The  gods  of  the  Romans — 
Father  Jove — The  Matron  goddess — The  goddess  of  schools — The  goddess  of 
the  hearth — Ceres  and  Liber — The  gods  of  beginnings — Rome's  lesser  gods — 
The  Roman  empire, 173 

CHAPTER  X. 

Our  Ancestors. 

Ancient  Britain — The  Druids — Wonderful  resemblance — Worship  of  the  Druids 
— Temple  of  the  Hanging  Stones — Human  sacrifices — The  destruction  of 
Druidism — Who  first  brought  Christianity  to  Britain — Paganism  of  the  Saxons 
— Saxon  gods — Saxon  sacrifices — Fairy-lore  of  Western  Europe — An  Elfin 
Story — The  penitent  Nis — Nixes — The  Peasant  and  the  Watennan — The  won- 
derful little  pouch — Christianizing  the  Saxons,         .         ,         .         .         .         .   1S5 


CONTENTS.  XI 

CHAPTER  XI. 
India. 

PAGB 

Sketch  of  Brahminism — The  gods  of  Hinduism — Story  of  the  Sages'  search — 
Can  the  .gods  die? — Sects  of  Hinduism — Principles  of  Hinduism — Human 
beings  killed  in  sacrifice — How  Hinduism  regards  woman,      .         .         •         .210 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Hindu  Temples,  Idols  and  Worship. 

Idols  and  temples  of  Juggernaut — Kali,  the  Goddess  of  Blood — Temple  Decora- 
tions— Benares — The  sacred  city  of  the  Sikhs — Cave-temples  of  Elephanta  and 
Gwalior — Ganesha,  God  of  Wisdom — Pagodas — Hindu  washings  for  sin — 
Hindu  holy  men,  devotees  and  fakirs, 232 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Hindu  Sacred  Books,  Fairy  Stories  and  Fireside  Tales. 

The  Vedic  hymns — The  law-book  of  Manu — Degradation  of  women  according  to 
Manu's  laws — The  burning  of  widows  commanded  by  Manu — The  god  Vishnu 
made  man — A  Sanskit  story-book — The  story  of  the  terrible  bell — The  story  of 
the  lion  and  the  old  hare — The  story  of  the  Brahmin  and  the  pans — The  story 
of  tlie  recluse  and  the  mouse,  .........  2Cr> 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Japan. 

The  sacred  books  of  Japan — Japanese  story  of  creation — The  emperors  descended 
from  the  gods — The  sun-goddess  enticed  from  the  cave — Shinto  worship,  .  30:; 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Popular  Gods  and  Shrines  of  Shintoism. 

The  seven  household  gods — The  sacred  mountain — Shinto  temples  and  gate-ways 
— The  sacred  shrines  of  Ise 321 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

The  Dark  Continent. 

African  belief  in  a  god  or  gods — Praying  for  rain — The  Hottentots'  god,  Gounja- 
Gounja — The  Bushmen's  god — Zulu  tradition  of  the  origin  of  men — Good  and 
bad  spirits — The  spirit  in  the  insect— Fetich  worship — A  horrible  fetich- 
Stanley  and  the  Africans'  fear  of  fetich — Witchcraft, 341 


xii  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XVII. 
The  Aborigines  of  America. 

rAGB 

The  Indians  of  North  America — The  Great  Spirit — Worship  of  ancestors — Indian 
legends — The  "Song  of  Hiawatha" — Indian  allegory  of  winter  and  spring — 
Alaskans'  worship  of  evil  spirits — Indian  sun-worship — Amazon  sun-worship 
— The  Araucanians — Patagonia — The  Aztecs — Ancient  Aztec  idol — The 
Incas, 362 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 
The  Islands  of  the  Seas. 

The  depraved  condition  of  the  Papuans — The  pagan  Polynesians — Traditionary 
origin  of  human  priesthood — Polynesian  notion  of  the  sun  and  moon — The 
fire-god's  song,       ............  387 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

The  Karens  and  their  Traditions. 

The  Karens  not  idolaters — Worship  of  Yuah — A  singular  tradition— The  dog 
who  ate  the  book — Funeral  services — Mrs.  Vinton's  letter,       ....  401 

CHAPTER  XX. 

The  Fire-worshipers. 

Zoroaster,  the  Prophet  of  Ormazd — Zoroaster's  worship  of  one  God — Ormazd  and 
Ahriman — Finding  of  the  Zend-Avesta — The  Parsee  Bible — Paisee  worship,.  .  407 

CHAPTER  XXL 

China  and  her  Philosophers. 

Chinese  contrarieties  and  language — The  three  Chinese  religions — The  old  boy 

The  talisman  of  long  life — The  visit  of  Confucius  to  Lao-Tsze — The  voyage 

in  search  of  the  talisman  of  long  life, 416 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

The  Taoist  Sacred  Books  and  Gods. 

The  book  of  rewards  and  punishments — Some  selections  from  the  book  of  rewards 
and  punishments — The  book  of  secret  blessings — The  gods  of  the  Taoists — 
The  god  of  letters— Charms— Kwan-te,  God  of  War— Tsai-shin,  the  God  of 
Riches — Taoist  superstitions, 428 


CONTENTS.  xiii 

CHAPTER   XXIII. 

Confucius  and  the  Classics. 

FAGB 

The  background  of  the  picture — The  story  of  the  sage's  life — Teachings  and 
writings  of  the  Chinese  sage — The  wisdom  of  the  sage,    .....  445 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Confucian  Temples  and  Worship. 

The  worship  of  Shang-te,  at  Peking — Temple  of  Confucius — Examinations  in  the 
sacred  books — Anecdotes  of  students — How  Mencius's  mother  incited  her  son 
to  study — How  a  tired  student  was  led  back  to  his  studies — The  little  sage  who 
hid  fire  to  light  his  lamp — An  example  of  a  studious  ancestor — The  student 
with  a  round  stick  for  a  pillow, 460 

CHAPTER  XXV. 
Home-life  under  Confucianism. 

Ceremony  of  turning  the  bridge-ladder — Worship  of  ancestors  at  a  wedding — 
Mother,  Goddess  of  Children — Teaching  a  child  to  worship  idols — The  story 
of  Ma-chu,  Goddess  of  the  Sailors, 478 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

Buddha,  the  "  Light  of  Asia." 

The  story  of  Gautama,  the  founder  of  Buddhism — Gautama's  four  visions — The 
great  renunciation — Gautama  becomes  an  ascetic — The  "Light  of  Asia"  and 
the  "  Light  of  the  World," 498 

CHAPTER   XXVII. 

The  Buddhist  Bible,  the  "  Three  Baskets,"  and  its  Teachings. 

iThe  Buddhist  way  of  salvation — What  is  Nirvana  ? — Buddhist  morals — Some  of 
the  "  footsteps  of  the  law  " — Buddhist  beatitudes, 513 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

The  Growth  of  Buddhism — the  Buddist  Order  of  Mendicants. 

The  Sangha,  or  Buddhist  Brotherhood — The  initiation  cei^emony — Rules  of  the 
Order — Daily  life  of  a  monk — The  three  great  Buddhist  councils — Buddha- 
ghosha,  the  famous  monk  and  missionary — The  stoiy  of  King  Kakavanna — 
Buddhist  courtesies  of  the  present  day, 522 


xiv  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 
India  and  Ceylon. 

PAGB 

The  famous  Topes — The  great  Sanchi  Tope — Ceylonese  Buddhism — The  sacred 
Bo-tree  of  Ceylon — Reducing  the  Tripitaka  to  writing — Buddhaghosha  in  Cey- 
lon— A  Buddliist  temple  in  Ceylon — The  sacred  Ceylonese  books,  .         .         .  532 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

BURMAH. 

The  Sh way-da-gong  pagoda — The  stoiy  of  Sh way-da-gong — Other  pagodas — 
Worship  of  nats — A  nat  story — Superstitions  of  the  Burmese — The  funeral  of 
a  pongyee  or  monk,        ...........  555 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

SlAM. 

The  celebrated  Wat  Chang  pagoda — Temple  of  the  Emerald  Idol — Worship  of 
the  white  elephant — Ruins  of  the  great  temple  of  Nagkon  Wat — Some  other 
temples, 575 


CHAPTER   XXXII. 

Thibet. 

Sketch  of  the  history  of  Lamaism — Monks  and  monasteries — Temple  at  Teshu 
Lumbo  monastery — Services  at  the  H'Lassa  cathedral — Praying-wheels — The 
mystic  sentence  of  Thibet — The  incarnation  of  Buddha  in  the  Grand  Lama — 
The  Lamaist  Bible, 598 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

China — continued. 

Pagodas — Chinese  Buddhist  temples — The  worship  of  Kwan-yin — The  worship 
of  Kum-Fa — Idols — The  Temple  of  Horrors — Monasteries — A  Monk's  Mon- 
ument— Chinese  Buddhist  Bonzes — Buddhist  devotees — Ceremony  of  the 
Water-lamps — The  Do-nothing  sect  of  Reformed  Buddhists — Booldo,  the 
Buddhism  of  the  Corens, 61 1 


CONTENTS.  XV 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 
Japan. 

PAGE 

Bodhidharm^  in  Japan — The  Sun-child  and  his  miraculous  deliverance — Further 
history  of  Japan — Buddhist  sects  in  Japan — The  Protestants  of  Buddhism — 
Kwanon's  Temple  at  Asakusa,  Tokio — Temple  of  Shiba,  in  Tokio — Temple 
of  five  hundred  gods — The  casting  of  a  Temple  Bell — The  Colossal  Idol,  the 
Kamkura  Dai  Butsu — Some  Japanese  gods — Japanese  Festivals — Mount  Fuji- 
Yama — Customs  concerning  birth,  marriage  and  death — Some  Japanese  super 
stitions — Religion  of  the  Ainos,     .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .656 

CHAPTER    XXXV. 

Mohammedanism. 

Extent  of  Mohammedanism — The  Arabian  camel-driver  who  founded  a  great 
religion — The  Prophet's  youth  and  early  manhood — Gabriel's  message  to 
Mohammed — The  flight  of  Mohammed — Converts  made  at  the  sword's  point — 
Mohammed's  successors,  the  Caliphs — Caliph  Omar — The  Crusades — The 
writing  of  the  Koran — The  teaching  of  the  Koran — Some  selections  from  the 
Koran — Mohammed's  Paradise — The  Koran  on  the  judgment,       .         .         •  7'9 

CHAPTER  XXXVI. 
Mohammedan  Mosques  and  Worship. 

Worship  in  the  Mosques — The  dancing  and  howling  Dervishes — The  smart  and 
smarting  answer  of  a  Dervish — Daily  worship — The  Mosque  of  St.  Sophia — 
The  Jummah  Musjid  at  Delhi,  India — The  Taj  Mahal,  the  "jewel of  India" — 
Pilgrimages  and  festivals — Conclusion,    ........    741 

CHAPTER  XXXVII. 
Winning  the  World  to  the  Worship  of  the  one  God. 

Comparison  of  heathen  religions  and  Christianity — Why  shall  we  give  Christ- 
ianity to  the  world — A  flight  over  the  battle-field — Position  of  the  Christian 
army, 767 


Index, 


779 


STEEL-PLATE  ENGRAVINGS. 


Pagb 

Frontispiece, 2 

Temple  of  the  Thousand  Idols,        ...         47 

Hindu    Fakirs    Practicing    their    Superstitious 

Rites,       .         .  .         .         .         .         .217 

The  Hindu  Mother, 234 

The  Fulfillment  of  Prophecy,     ....  498 

A  Scene  on  the  Jumna  River,  .        .        .       760 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Colored   Map  of   World Full  Page  32 

Ancient  Serpent  Idol 48 

Teraphim 57 

Dagon,  the  Fish-god 58 

Ancient  Serpent  Idol 59 

Group  of  Altars 60 

Idol  from  Hindustan Full  Page  61 

Coin  Representing  the  Deluge 66 

Comparative  Chart   of  all  Religions Full  Page  91 

Ruined  Temples 93 

Rock  Temple  of  Ibsambul,  Restored 95 

Song  of  the  Threshers 96 

Egyptian  Hieroglyphics 97 

Pasht,  the  Cat-headed  God 98 

One  of  the  forms  of  Isis 99 

Crocodile  God loo 

Scarabaeus loi 

Shrouding  of  the  Dead 103 

Mummy  Case 103 

Forms  of  Mummy  Cases 104 

Egyptian  Priestess 107 

Avenue  of  Sphinxes  leading  to  a  Temple 112 

Gate-way  of  the  Ancient  Egyptian  Temple  of  Karnak 113 

The  Singing  Memnon 114 

Ruins  of  Thebes Full  Page  1 1 5 

The  Sphinx  and  the  Pyramids 117 

Star  Worshipers 1 20 

Babylonish  Coffin  and  Lid  of  Green  Glazed  Pottery 122 

Assyrian  Cuneiform  Letters 124. 

Robed  Statue 125 

Statue  of  Oannes,  the  King 129 

Adar  Strangling  the  Lioii 130 

Sargon's  Palace,  Restored Full  Page  133 

Human-headed  Eagle-winged  Assyrian  Bull 135 

Sculptured  Locust 139 

Goddess  Ashtoreth,  Ishtar 141 

Phoenician  Goddes>s  Astarte 142 

The  Ammonite  Fire  God  Moloch 143 

2  xvii 


Xviii  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

FAGB 

Jehovah's  Triumph  over  Daal 147 

Image  of  Jupiter,  by  Phiclias Full  Page  165 

Temple  of  Diana  of  Ephcsus Full  Page  1 70 

Medal  of  Diana 171 

Jupiter  Tonans 177 

Janus 180 

Ancient  Druidic  Worship  at  Stonehenge,  England 191 

Gods  of  our  Saxon  Ancestors 198 

Sacrificial  Rites  of  the  Ancient  British  Druids 202 

Ancient  Hindu  Idol ,    .    211 

Devil  Worshiped  in  Tennevelly 213 

Indra,  God  of  the  Atmosphere 214 

The  Three  Chief  Hindu  Gods 215 

Bird's-eye  view  of  the  Hindu  Temple  at  Cawnpore 219 

Sculptured  Idols  on  a  Pillar 221 

Dying  Brahmin  holding  the  tail  of  the  Sacred  Cow,  so  as  to  enter  Heaven  .    .    .    223 

A  Caste-marked  Brahmin  at  his  devotions 224 

God  of  Hell,  from  a  Hindu  picture 225 

Amadeo,  God  of  Love 226 

Teaching  a  child  to  worship  Ganesha,  the  God  of  Wisdom 228 

A  child  bringing  an  offering  to  the  Idol  of  a  Bull 229 

Hindu  Woman 231 

The  most  Sacred  Temple  of  Juggernaut  at  Pari 233 

Worship  in  the  Temple  of  Krishna,  or  Juggernaut 235 

Hindu  Devotees  dragging  Juggernaut's  Car  and  immolating  themselves   ....    236 

The  Idol  Juggernaut  usually  carried  on  the  car 238 

Disrobing  and  disjointing  Juggernaut 239 

The  Goddess  Kali 240 

Idol  of  Kali Full  Page  241 

A  Night  Feast  of  the  Bloody  Goddess,  Kali 244 

Goddess  Kali,  from  a  Hindu  Picture 245 

Hindu  Notion  of  the  Universe 246 

Golden  Temple  of  the  Hindus  of  Umritsur 247 

Entablature  from  a  Hindu  Temple 248 

Children  Worshiping  in  Temple  at  Benares Full  Page  249 

Bas-relief  from  a  Hindu  Temple 251 

Causeway  of  the  Golden  Temple Double  Page  254-5 

Great  Idol  of  the  Cave  of  Mandar,  India 258 

Scene  from  Cave  of  Elephanta Full  Page  259 

Cave  of  Elephanta Double  Page  262-3 

Image  of  Ganeslia 265 

Annual  Boat-festival  of  Ganesha  on  the  Ganges 266 

Wayside  Idol  of  Ganesha Full  Page  267 

Gate-way  of  Madura  Temple 270 

Pagoda  of  Pondicherry,  famed  for  its  Sculpture  •    • .271 

Disused  Idols  and  sacred  articles  from  Ongole,  India 272 

Bird's-eye  view  of  Pagodas  and  Temple  Grounds,  Madras,  India,    Full  Pages.   274-5 


LIST  OF  ILL USTRA  TIONS.  XIX 

PAGE 

Hindus  washing  in  the  Sacred  River  Ganges  at  Benares 277 

Temple  of  the  Sacred  Fountain ^7 

Fakir  of  the  Immovable  Foot ^79 

The   Holy  Man  with  the   Iron  Collar 2»0 

Fakir  of  the  Long  Hair ^   ' 

A  Fakir,  who  never  helps  himself ^  ^ 

A  Hindu  Holy  Man  torturing  himself  by  hanging  from  a  hook 283 

Fakir  hanging  to  a  limb ^^ 

Devotee    enduring   fire ^ J' 

Fakir  of  the  long  nails Full  Page  Z%^ 

Hindu  Festival  of  the  New   Moon ^^9 

Guards  of  the  Hindu  Temple  Ayenar 292 

Hindu  women  rescued  from  their  degradation Full  Page  'Z'^'J 

The  ten  incarnations  of   Vishnu 3°° 

The  God  created  from  Izanagi's  staff 3^° 

Jimmu  Tenno,  first  emperor  of  Japan •    • 313 

The   Mikado's   coat-of-arms 3^7 

Raiden,  God  of  Thunder,  with  his  string  of  drums 3^8 

Futen,  God  of  Winds,  with  his  huge  sack  .    .    •. 3^9 

Daikoku,  the  Rice-god,  on  his  throne  of  rice-bags 322 

Fukoruku  Jin,  the  god  who  can  bestow  long  life Full  Page  323 

Domestic  Altar  of  the  gods  of  daily  food  and  of  rice 326 

Hotei,  the  God  of  Happiness 327 

The  Sacred  Mountain,  Fuji-Yama 33° 

Shinto  Shrine,  near  Yokohama,  Japan,  with  worshipers,  vessel  of  holy  water,  etc.  331 

A  Tento,  or  "Heavenly  Lantern" "^^"^ 

Shrines  of  Lse,  the  most  sacred  place  of  Shintoism ZZZ 

Interior  of  a  Shinto  Temple,  showing  the  arrangements  for  worship 335 

Ceremonial  dance  of  t!ie  Shinto  Priests ZV^ 

A    lawyer  of  Zululand 343 

King  Coffee's  Protecting  God 34^ 

The  Priests'  trick  of  raising  an  idol  out  of  tlie  earth 34^ 

A  Cazembe  Fetich  Man 35* 

Decorated  Fetichist 352 

Juju  House  or  Temple  of  Skulls -^"^^  P'^S^  353 

Idols  with  mirrors  in  their  bodies " 35° 

A  Witch  Doctor 357 

Indian  Medicine   I\Ian ->  J 

Indian  Burial   Place 3^6 

Indian  Image ^   ' 

Sun-worship  on  the  Amazon Double  Page  374-5 

Ancient  Aztec  Idol '^^^ 

Sun-worship  among  the  Peruvians 3^i 

Ancient  Peruvian  Temple  of  the  Sun 3^5 

A  Papuan  Fetich   House J^-^ 

Tattooed  Girl  of  Oceanica 3^9 

Polynesian  Idol  and  its  devotees 39° 

2 


XX  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS, 

PACS 

A  Fijian  bure  temple 391 

Idol  of  South  Sea  Islands 392 

Great  Idol  of  Oceanica,  (six  feet  in  height) 393 

Hawaiian  Idol,  known  as  the  Poison  God 394 

Idol   from  Polynesia 395 

New  Zealand  Moon-god 397 

Hawaiian  War-god 399 

Christian  Karen  Girls 404 

A  Parsee  Merchant  of  Bombay 408 

Chinese  ornaments  with  words  of  cheer 417 

A  Chinese  Book 418 

Censer,  from  a  Taoist  Temple 429 

Ceremonies  in  a  Taoist  Temple 433 

The  Three  Pure  Ones 435 

God  of  the  Kitchen 435 

God  of  Thunder 435 

Carrying  the  Dragon 436 

Dragon  Boat-races,  a  Chinese  Festival 437 

Charm  to  ward  off  Evil  Spirits  from  a  Bride 438 

God  of  Thieves 438 

Sword  Chann 439 

Kwan-te,  God  of  War 440 

Taoists  consulting  the  oracles  at  the  magicians 44 1 

Stone  pillars  erected  by  the  Chinese  to  keep  off  evil  spirits 442 

Tall  WHiite  Devil 443 

Short  Black  Devil J[/\\ 

Traditional  likeness  of  Confucius 446 

Monumental  gate-way  erected  in  honor  of  Confucius 448 

Temple  of  Confucius,  in  Peking Full  Page  453 

Chinese  School-boys 460 

Chinese  Joss-stick 461 

Sacred  Altar  of  Heaven,  at  Peking /'////  Page  465 

Temple  of  Agriculture,  at  Peking,  China 468 

Bronze  Temple  in  honor  of  Confucius Full  Page /^'JO 

Chinese  sitting-room 479 

Ancestral  Tablet ■ 481 

Chinaman  burning  prayers  instead  of  saying  them 482 

Bringing  home  one  of  the  souh  of  a  dead  man  in  his  clothes 483 

Ceremony  of  turning  around  the  bridge-ladder 484 

Chinese  marriage  procession Full  Page  487 

Worship  of  ancestors  at  a  wedding 489 

Chinese  baby  in  its  cradle 491 

Teaching  a  child  to  worship 492 

Offering  sacrifice  to  the  Kitchen-god 493 

God   of  Gambling 496 

Idol  of  Buddha 498,  509 

Religious  meeting  of  tlie  Jains FuJl  Page  533 


LIST  OF  JLLUSTRATIOyS, 


XXI 


PAGB 

Tope  of  Sanchi Full  Page  537 

Capital  of  a  pillar  of  gate-way  of  Sanchi  Tope 539 

Gate-way  of  Sanchi  Tope Double  Page  542—3 

Roadway  to  a  Buddliist  temple  in  Ceylon 545 

Devil-dancers'  mask  from  Ceylon 549 

Buddhist  Temple  in  the  Island  of  Ceylon 551 

Worship  of  Buddha's  Tooth Full  Page  553 

Shway-da-gong,  the  great  Pagoda  of  Rangoon,  Burmah 558 

Sacred  Garden  attached  to  Temple Dauble  Page  562-3 

Pagoda  at  Maulmain,  Burmah 565 

Funeral  procession  of  a  Buddhist  Priest 573 

Tower  of  Wat  Chang  Pagoda  at  Bangkok,  Siam Full  Page  577 

Funeral  Temple  of  wood,  bamboo  and  paper 578 

The  King  of  Siam  going  to  worship  at  the  Temple  of  the  Emerald  Ilol    .    .    .     580 

Temple  of  the  Emerald  Idol Tv///  Page  581 

Ruined  Temple  of  Ayudia,  Altar  of  the,  Suim Full  Page  585 

Siamese  worshiping  the  WHiite  Elephant 589 

Tomb  of  a  Buddhist  Saint 590 

Ruins  of  the  Great  Temple  of  Nagkon  Wat 593 

Statue  of  the  Leper  King c^nr 

A  Thibetan  Lad 599 

Monastery  of  Hemis  in  the    Himalayas 600 

Tartar  Woman 601 

Praying  Machine 605 

Praying  \\Tieel  whirled  in  the  hand 606 

Stone  with  the  mystic  sentence,  "Om  Mani  Padmi  Hum" 607 

Mani  Padee,  a  Buddhist  Tomb  in  Thibet 608 

A  Thibetan   Woman 609 

Chinese  Image  of  Buddha 612 

Bronze   Lions Full  Page  613 

A  Chinese  Alandarin 615 

Chinese  sale  of  prayers  conducted  by  the   Priests 616 

Porcelain  Tower  at  Nanking,  China Fit II  Page  617 

Beating  on  a  Temple  Drum  to  attract  the  God 622 

Chinese  Temple  at  San  Francisco Full  Page  623 

The  "Three  Precious   Buddhas" 625 

Worship  in  the  Temple  of  the  thousand  Lamas Fifll  Page  627 

Temple  of  Kwan-Yin /".v//  Page  630 

Colossal  Gilded  Buddha 632 

Altar  of  Chinese  Pagoda Dc::l>le  Page  634-5 

The  Goddess  Ma-chu  and  her  assistants 638 

Pagoda  at  Tung-Cho Fztll  Page  639 

Chinese  Idols .     641 

Chinese  Buddhist's  Idea  of  Hell 642 

Goddess  of  Mercy  delivering  a  soul  .    .    •    • Full  Page  643 

Buddhist   Monument  at    Peking Full  Page  647 

Priest  at  a  Praying  Wheel 649 


^^11  LIST  OF  IL L  US TRA  TIONS. 

PACE 

Chinese  Bonze,  or  Pritst 650 

Letting  go  the  Water-lamps 653 

Miraculous  delivery  of  a  Bonze Full  Page  659 

Shrine  of  Kwanon 661 

Interior  of  Kwanon's  Ttinple Full  Page  663 

The   Hiogo   Buddha 666 

Buddhist  Shrine  at  Kobe 668 

Japanese  Pilgrim  in  winter  dress 669 

Dining-room  of  a  Buddhist  Monastery 670 

Religious  festival  in  Temple  Grounds Full  Page  671 

New  Year's  frolic  in  Japan Full  Page  675 

Buddhist  "  Nio,"  or  Temple  Guard 677 

Japanese  Picture  of  Kwanon 680 

Musicians  of  the  Temple  at  Slilba 682 

Torii,  or  Water  Gate  of  the  Temple  of  Miyajima Full  Page  683 

Interior  of  the  Temple  of  Shiba 685 

Temple  of  the  Five  Hundred  Gods,  Canton,  C'aiaa Full  Page  689 

Belfry  of  the  Temple  at  Osaka,  Japan 69 1 

Street  Mountebanks  in  a  New  Year's  Festival  in  Japan  ....     Dozible  Page  696-7 

Japanese  idea  of  the  Judge  of  Hell 700 

Festival  of  Foxes Full  Page  703 

Driving  the  devils  out  of  the  house  on  New  Year's  Eve  with  beans 705 

A  Japanese   Matsuri,  or  Religious  Festival 706 

Religious  Procession  in  Japan Full  Page  707 

Fujisan,  from  a  village  on  the  Tokaido 708 

Worship  at  the  Tomb  of  an  Ancestor Full  Page  713 

The  Flowing  Invocation 715 

Temple  of  the  Kaaba,  at  Mecca,  Arabia 722 

Mohammedan   Cemetery  at  Mecca 727 

Interior  of  a  Turkoman  tent,  in  Western  Pei-sia 729 

Mosque  of  Omar,  on  the  site  of  the  Jev^fish  Temple,  at  Jerusalem 730 

Mohammedans  praying  before  the  Mosque  of  Omar 731 

Mohammedan  IMosque  on  the    Hooghly  River,  near  Calcutta,  India 742 

Exterior  of  Mosque  in  Persia Double  Page  744-5 

Interior  of   Mosque   at  Delhi,   India 747 

Interior  of  Mosque  of   St.    Sopliia 748 

A   Whirling  Dervish 749 

Moslem  Boy  studying  the  Koran 752 

Mosque  of  St.   Sophia,  at  Constantinople,  Turkey 753 

Mosque  at  Delhi,  containing  a  hair  from  Mohammed's   beard 755 

Entrance  to  the  Mosque  at  Delhi 756 

Tower  of  the  Koutub,  India I'ull  Page  757 

Taj  Mahal,  the  tomb  of  the  Empress  Mumtaj  Mahal,  at  Agra,  India 759 

Interior  of  the  Taj,  the  tomb  of  Mahal 762 

Mohammedan  Feast  of  Mohurrim 764 

Tvo  New  Zealanders:  the  Savage  Tc  Wetere  and  the  Christian  Te  Kotc   .    .    .     76S 
A  Missionary  home  in  liiirmah 774 


CO 

O 
O 


X 


THE  WORLJj'S  FIRST  WORSHIP.  n\ 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE    world's    first   WORSHIP. 

I  have  laid  it  down  as  an  invariable  maxim  constantly  to  follow  his- 
torical tradition,  and  to  hold  fast  by  that  clew,  even  when  many 
things,  in  the  testimony  and  declarations  of  tradition,  appear  strange 
and  almost  inexplicable,  or  at  least  enigmatical ;  for  so  soon  in  the 
investigation  ©f  ancient  history  as  we  let  slip  that  Ariadne's  thread 
we  can  find  no  outlet  from  the  labyrinth  of  fanciful  theories,  and  the 
chaos  of  clashing  opinions. — F.  Von  Schlegel. 

THERE  are  many  systems  of  worship  in  the  world. 
Some  of  these  are  Hmited  to  single  nations,  others 
extend  themselves  over  different  nations,  and  in 
history  we  read  of  certain  religions  which  no  longer  exist. 
For  instance — of  those  systems  limited  to  a  nation,  there 
is  the  worship  of  ancestors,  as  taught  by  Confucius,  in 
China ;  the  worship  of  the  idol  gods  Brahma,  Vishnu 
and  Siva,  and  a  multitude  of  other  ^ods,  more  numerous 
than  their  worshipers,  in  India  ;  and  Shintoism,  the  nature- 
worship  of  Japan.  Of  those  which  have  extended  to 
other  lands,  there  Is  the  worship  of  the  hero-saint,  Gau- 
tama Buddha,  in  all  southern  and  eastern  Asia ;  and 
Mohammedanism,  the  fierce  opponent  of  idolatry,  and 
the  system  of  the  prophet  Mohammed,  in  India,  Turkey, 
Egypt  and  in  China.  Of  the  dead  religions,  there  are' 
those  of  Egypt,  Assyria,  Greece  and  Rome.  These  are 
but  a  few  of  the  many  forms  of  worship  that  we  find  in 
glancing  over  the  world's  history,  or  in  looking  at  its 
present  condition.     There  are  wide  differences  between 


-y.  ERROR'S   CHAINS. 

these  systems  of  worship  and  also  many  resemblances 
among  them. 

Where  did  these  systems  all  come  from  ?  Where  and 
how  did  they  start?  They  differ  very  materially  one 
from  another.  Some  worship  one  God  and  have  no 
idols,  others  worship  millions  of  gods  and  have  multi- 
tudes of  idols.  Their  temples  are  of  different  styles. 
Their  sacred  books  and  ceremonies  are  extremely  varied- 
Can  they  have  started  from  one  source,  or  did  each  start 
independently  of  the  rest? 

TESTIMONY    OF   AN    OLD    RECORD    AND    OF    LANGUAGE. 

How  shall  we  find  out  about  this  ?  We  have  one  rec- 
ord that  will  help  us  and  upon  which  we  can  depend. 
This  is  the  oldest  history  of  mankind.  There  were  a 
great  many  of  these  histories  written  later,  but  for  no 
one  of  them  is  there  a  tenth  part  of  the  evidence  as  to 
its  being  genuine,  which  there  is  for  this  one  old  record. 
It  has  been  tested  in  every  possible  way  and  no  flaw  has 
yet  been  found.  Ancient  monuments  and  their  inscrip- 
tions, the  oldest  traditions  of  the  most  ancient  peoples, 
all  confirm  its  statements.  But  these  monuments  and 
the  written  histories  of  nations  go  back  but  a  few  thou- 
sand years,  and  this  one  record  is  older  than  they  all.  So 
traditions  only  remain  to  be  compared  with  it.  No,  there 
is  one  thing  left  that  is  related  to  tradition.  It  is  lan- 
guage. 

Those  who  have  studied  the  languages  of  the  world 
and  compared  them  with  each  other  have  something  to ' 
say,  and  it  is  this :  All  languages  can  be  grouped  into 
families  or  classes  of  speech,  and  all  these  families  are 
seen  to  have  started  from  one  common  source.  This, 
too,  agrees  with  the  story  of  that  older  record.  That  tells 
how  God  made  first  a  man  and  then  a  woman,  how  that 


THE   WORLD'S  FIRST  WORSHIP.  ^c 

they  were  very  good  at  the  outset,  but  soon  became  bad. 
It  goes  on  to  tell  how  their  children  were  very  wicked, 
and  how  God  punished  them  by  sending  a  great  flood  ot 
waters  which  destroyed  all  but  one  family.  Then  this 
family  increased,  and  they  too  became  wicked.  They 
finally  planned  to  build  an  immense  tower,  so,  perhaps, 
that  they  should  not  b(^  drowned  again  in  a  flood;  at  any 
rate,  if  this  was  not  the  reason,  it  was  for  some  other 
wicked  purpose  that  they  builded  God  was  angry  with 
their  wickedness,  and  to  stop  their  building  confused 
their  language.  They  had  all  spoken  the  same  lan- 
guage before,  but  now  some  spoke  one  and  some  an- 
other. Just  here  other  histories  begin,  and  the  stories 
in  these  and  in  the  record  we  have  referred  to,  go  pn 
very  much  alike.  But  the  traditions,  which  are  older 
than  the  histories,  agree  with  the  record,  as  we  shall  see 
in  a  future  chapter.  This  record  is  the  Bible,  especially 
the  first  part  of  the  Book  of  Genesis.  So  here  is  found 
one  answer  to  our  question, — all  religions  grew  out 
of  one  original  system  of  worship. 

ANOTHER   witness:    COMPARATIVE    RELIGION. 

There  is  still  another  way  to  get  an  answer.  Place 
the  religions  side  by  side,  study  their  principles,  examine 
their  legends,  and  see  if,  after  all,  there  are  not  resem- 
blances beneath  the  surface.  Let  us  strip  them  of  those 
things  which  are  the  additions  of  a  later  day,  and  of  those 
things  which  the  peculiar  conditions  of  their  countries, 
climates  and  lanQfuaores  have  added.  Take  for  instance 
their  legends  or  household  stories.  Some  of  these  tra- 
didons  are  written  in  the  inscriptions  on  the  ancient 
monuments  of  Egypt,  or  especially  of  Babylonia,  or  in 
the  sacred  books  and  histories  of  the  older  nations;  others 
have  been  handed  down  by  word  of  mouth.     It  was  long 


36 


EJiROJi'S   CHAJiWS. 


after  these  legends  were  old,  that  even  neighboring 
nations  held  any  communications  with  each  other.  It 
had  been  just  as  if  a  great  high  wall  was  built  around 
each  nation — a  wall  without  gates.  So  they  could  not 
have  told  these  stories  to  each  other.  Then,  too,  some 
of  these  storie's  are  told  by  nations  thousands  of  miles 
apart. 

The  truth  certainly  is  that  before  the  several  branches 
of  the  race  separated  from  their  common  home,  perhaps 
on  the  table-lands  of  Bactria,  they  had  many  legends,  nur- 
sery tales  and  peculiar  stories  in  common.  As  they 
moved  to  the  colder  North,  or  to  the  warmer  South,  they 
carried  these  tales  with  them.  In  course  of  time  these 
came  to  be  somewhat  altered.  This  change  was  in  the 
dressing  rather  than  in  the  tales  themselves.  Hence  we 
find  among  the  Egyptians,  Hindoos,  Greeks,  Germans, 
Spaniards,  Norsemen,  stories  which  are  so  much  alike 
that  it  is  certain  that  they  had  a  common  origin.  Take, 
for  instance,  the  story  of  the  Master  Thief  of  the  Norse- 
men, and  compare  it  with  the  same  story  as  told  by  other 
nations,  and  we  are  led  to  the  conclusion  that  it  is  part 
of  a  stock  of  nursery  tales  which  were  told  before  the 
dispersion.  Let  us  remember  that  many  collections  of 
stories  were  not  originated  by  the  men  whose  names 
they  bear,  but  that  these  men  simply  gathered  together 
legends  and  tales  which  they  found  already  existing 
among  the  people.  Thus  "Grimm's  Household  Tales"  is 
a  collection  of  old  German  fireside  stories.  "The  Arabian 
Night's  Entertainment,"  the  "Hindoo  Hitopadesa,"  "Da- 
sent's  Popular  Tales  of  the  Norse,"  and  "Old  Deccan 
Days,"  are  collections  of  the  same  sort.  It  will  repay  us. 
to  attend  at  some  length  to  the  various  versions  of  one  of 
these  stories,  which  will  serve  to  illustrate  many  others  of 
more  momentous  character. 


THE   WORLD'S  FIRST  WORSHIP.  ^j 


THE    STORY    OF    THE    MASTER   THIEF. 

In  the  Norse  tale,  the  Master  Thief  is  a  farmer's 
apprentice.  In  his  country  there  is  an  order  or  society 
of  thieves,  and  the  apprentice  wishes  to  join  them.  The 
thieves  promise  to  admit  him  to  their  society  provided 
he  can  succeed  in  steaHng  an  ox  from  his  master  as  the 
master  is  driving  three  oxen,  one  by  one,  to  market.  It 
must  be  done,  the  thieves  say,  without  the  master's 
knowledge,  and  without  hurting  him.  The  youth  put  a 
silver-buckled  shoe  in  his  master's  way  as  he  traveled 
along  the  road.  The  farmer  admired  the  shoe  but  passed 
on  without  touchino-  it,  as  an  odd  shoe  would  be  of  no 
service  to  him.  The  thief  cunningly  picked  up  the  shoe 
and  ran  around  by  another  path  so  as  to  come  out 
ahead  of  his  master,  and  place  the  shoe  in  the  farmer's 
way  again.  This  time  he  stopped,  tied  his  ox  to  the  fence, 
and  picking  up  the  shoe  before  him,  went  back  to  find 
its  mate.  The  lad  then  stole  the  ox  and  took  it  away  to 
the  thieves'  council.  But  they  want  to  try  him  still  further, 
and  direct  him  to  steal  a  second  ox  from  his  master,  who 
is  again  driving  to  market.  Disguising  himself  the  lad 
put  a  rope  around  his  body  under  his  arms  and  hung 
himself  to  a  tree  at  the  roadside.  The  farmer  passed 
on,  barely  noticing  the  lad.  He  was  so  much  troubled 
about  the  loss  of  his  ox  that  he  did  not  think  of  render- 
ing assistance.  The  lad  then  untied  himself,  and  run- 
ning by  a  roundabout  way  came  out  on  the  road  ahead 
of  the  farmer  and  hune  himself  as  before.  Aeain  the 
farmer  passed  by  unconcernedly.  Again  the  thief  hung 
himself.  This  time  the  farmer  thought  himself  bewitched, 
and  returned  to  see  if  the  other  two  lads  were  still  hano- 
ing.  His  second  ox  was  now  left  tied  up  and  the  lad 
dien  led  it  also  away.     The  thieves  then  said  that  if  he 


3^ 


£A'/^OA"S    CHAINS. 


would  steal  the  third  ox  from  the  farmer,  now  on  his 
guard  against  tricks,  he  should  be  their  master.  Going 
into  a  piece  of  woods  along  the  road,  as  his  master  was 
passing  by  with  the  third  ox,  he  imitated  the  bellowing 
of  oxen.  The  farmer  now  hurried  away  to  catch  his  lost 
cattle,  leaving  the  third  one  to  fall  into  the  thief's  hands. 
The  thieves  thereupon  took  him  into  their  council,  but 
determined  (as  he  shrewdly  provoked  them  to  do)  to 
outdo  the  young  thief,  they  went  away  to  carry  out  their 
plans.  The  lad  then  returned  his  master's  oxen,  and 
carried  oft  all  the  valuables  and  goods  which  the  thieves 
had  stored  away.  Soon  after  he  married  his  master's 
dauofhter. 

This  story  was  told  in  Western  Europe,  probably  long 
before  Herodotus  heard  the  story  of  the  Egyptian  thief 
and  wrote  it  out,  or  before  the  Hindoo  tale  of  Karpara 
and  Gata  was  made  known  outside  of  India.  The  tale 
of  the  Forty  Thieves  in  the  Arabian  Nights  also  bears  a 
close  resemblance  to  these.  The  Spanish  legend  of  the 
Poor  Mason  may  have  been  borrowed  from  any  one  of 
these.  Compare  the  main  points  of  these  stories  with 
those  of  the  tale  of  the  Master  Thief. 

THE    STORY    OF    RHAMPSINITOS. 

Rhampsinitos,  an  architect,  built  for  the  King  of  Egypt 
a  treasure-house  with  a  secret  entrance.  This  secret,  at 
his  death,  the  architect  told  to  his  two  sons.  They  there- 
upon helped  themselves  to  the  king's  treasures.  As  the 
king  noticed  how  his  treasures  were  gradually  decreasing, 
he  placed  a  trap  in  the  entrance  to  the  treasure-house. 
The  younger  brother  was  caught  in  the  trap,  and  seeing 
that  he  could  not  escape,  he  begged  his  brother  to  cut  off 
his  head  so  that  the  king  might  not  know  that  the  archi- 
tect had  told  the  secret,  and  that  the  brodier  might  not 


THE   WORLD'S  FIRST  WORSHIP. 


39 


get  into  trouble.  So  the  king  found  the  headless  body, 
and  of  course  could  not  recognize  the  thief.  But  to  find 
out  who  he  was,  he  had  the  body  exposed  in  a  public 
place,  and  ordered  the  guards  to  arrest  any  person  who 
should  mourn  for  the  dead  man.  The  mother  saw  and  re- 
cognized the  body,  and  threatened  to  tell  the  king,  unless 
the  elder  son  should  bring  the  body  home.  The  son 
then  filled  some  skin  bottles  with  wine,  and  loaded  them 
upon  asses.  As  he  rode  by  the  guards,  he  slightly 
loosened  the  mouth-string  of  the  sacks,  and  the  wine 
began  to  run  out.  The  guards,  pretending  to  help  him, 
helped  themselves  to  the  wine.  After  tying  up  the  skins, 
the  youth  asks  them  to  sit  down  and  drink  wine  with 
him.  They  do  so,  and  are  soon  overpowered  by  it,  and 
fall  asleep.  He  then  carried  away  the  body.  Soon  after 
he  was  married  to  the  princess,  for  the  king  sought  to 
honor  this  Master  Thief,  and  he  was  held  to  be  the  clev- 
erest man  of  the  cleverest  people. 

THE    STORY   OF   THE    POOR    MASON. 

In  the  Spanish  story  of  the  Poor  Mason  a  priest  wished 
him  to  build  a  secret  hiding-place  for  his  treasure.  In 
order  that  the  mason  might  not  know  how  to  get  at  the 
treasure,  should  he  be  so  inclined,  the  priest  blindfolded 
him  from  the  time  of  leaving  his  own  home  till  he  arrived 
at  the  treasure-house,  and  again  blindfolded  him  on  his 
return.  So  the  mason  knew  the  secret  of  the  priest's 
hidden  treasure,  but  did  not  know  where  the  house  was 
in  which  it  was  secreted.  The  priest  finally  died.  The 
house  was  then  said  to  be  haunted.  The  landlord  could 
not  find  a  tenant.  At  last  he  happened  on  the  poor 
mason,  and  offered  him  the  house  rent  free.  As  soon  as 
the  mason  entered  it,  he  saw  that  It  was  the  house  where 
the  wealth  was  stored,  and  where  he  had  worked.     He 


40 


ERROJi'S   CHAINS. 


kept  the  secret  to  himself,  until  like  the  Egyptian  archi- 
tect, he  told  it  on  his  death-bed  to  his  son. 

In  the  story  of  Trophonius  and  Agamedes,  which  Pau- 
sanius  tells,  the  two  masons  built  the  treasury  of  the 
king,  so  that  one  stone  in  the  wall  could  be  removed  from 
the  outside.  The  king  found  his  wealth  growing  less, 
and  set  a  trap  for  the  thief,  Agamedes  was  caught  and 
Trophonius  cut  off  his  head.  In  the  Hindoo  story  of  two 
brothers,  Gata  and  Karpara,  not  only  treasure  is  stolen 
by  means  of  a  secret  entrance  to  the  king's  palace,  but 
also  the  princess,  the  king's  daughter,  Karpara  was 
finally  found  out,  was  put  to  death,  and  as  it  was  desired 
to  catch  the  other  thief,  his  body  was  exposed.  The 
guards  were  ordered  to  seize  any  one  who  might  mourn 
the  death  of  Karpara.  The  word  "Karpara"  means  a 
gourd  or  melon,  Gata,  Karpara's  brother,  in  order  that 
he  might  mourn  as  Hindoos  feel  bound  to  do  and  yet  not 
be  caught,  loaded  some  asses  with  melons,  and  as  he 
passed  the  body  of  Karpara,  contrives  to  have  his  load 
slip  off,  crying,  as  the  gourds  fell  to  the  ground  and  burst, 
"Alas !  for  my  precious  Karpara !"  The  guards  supposed, 
of  course,  that  he  referred  to  his  gourds,  and  so  did  not 
arrest  him.  Afterwards  they  perceived  the  trick  that  had 
been  played  upon  them,  and  told  it  to  the  king.  He  then, 
by  royal  proclamation,  offered  the  princess  in  marriage 
to  the  clever  thief  if  he  would  but  come  and  claim  her. 

STORV  OF  thp:  shifty  lad. 

The  historian  of  ancient  Scottish  legends  records  a 
tale  which  resembles  in  many  points  the  tales  mentioned 
above.  In  the  Scottish  storv,  the  Shiftv  Lad  ofoes 
through  his  apprenticeship,  not  among  a  company  of 
thieves,  but  under  the  sole  charge  of  the  Black  Rogue, 
of  whom  he  at  last  rid  himself  by  getting  him  to  try  the 


THE   WORLD'S  FIRST  WORSHIP.  .  j 

pleasant  sensation  of  being  hung  by  the  neck.  The 
trick  answers  to  that  of  the  Norse  thief,  but  the  mode  of 
effecting  it  differs  widely.  Having  disposed  of  his  mas- 
ter, he  engages  himself  to  a  carpenter,  whom  he  per- 
suades to  break  into  the  king's  storehouse.  The  advice 
of  the  Seanagal,  whom  the  king  consults,  is  that  a  hogs- 
head of  soft  pitch  be  placed  near  the  entrance.  The 
wright,  again  making  the  venture,  sinks  into  the  pitch, 
and  the  Shifty  Lad,  stepping  in  on  his  shoulders,  takes 
as  much  as  he  can  carry,  and  then  sweeping  off  his  mas- 
ter's head,  leaves  the  body  in  the  hogshead.  Again  the 
Seanagal  is  consulted,  and  his  answer  is  "that  they 
should  set  the  trunk  aloft  on  the  points  of  the  spears  of 
the  soldiers  to  be  carried  from  town  to  town,  to  see  if 
they  could  find  any  one  at  all  that  would  show  sorrow 
for  it."  As  they  pass  by  the  wright's  house,  his  wife 
screams,  but  the  Shifty  Lad  cutting  himself  with  an  adze, 
leads  the  captain  of  the  guard  to  think  that  the  cry  was 
caused  by  sorrow  at  his  own  hurt.  The  body  is  then  by 
the  king's  order  hung  on  a  tree,  the  guard  being  ordered 
to  seize  any  one  who  should  venture  to  take  it  down. 
The  lad  drivino-  before  him  a  horse  loaded  with  two  kees 
of  whisky,  approaches  the  soldiers,  as  though  he  wished  to 
pass  them  stealthily,  and  when  they  catch  the  horse's 
bridle,  he  runs  off  leavino:-  the  men  to  drink  themselves 
to  sleep,  and  then  returning  takes  away  the  wright's 
body.  This  exploit  is  followed  by  others  which  occur  in 
no  other  version  ;  but  the  final  scene  is  a  feast,  at  which, 
according  to  the  Seanagal's  prediction,  the  Shifty  Lad 
asks  the  king's  daughter  to  dance.  The  Seanagal  upon 
this  puts  a  black  mark  upon  him,  but  the  lad,  like  Mor- 
giana  in  the  story  of  "  Ali  Baba  and  the  Forty  Thieves," 
discovering  the  mark,  puts  another  on  the  Seanagal  and 
on  twenty  other  men  besides  him.     The  king  is  then  ad- 


A  2  EFROA'^S   CHAINS, 

vised  to  say  that  the  man  who  had  done  all  these  tricks, 
that  had  been  so  well  done,  must  be  exceedingly  clever, 
and  that  if  he  would  come  forward  and  give  himself  up 
he  should  have  the  princess  for  his  wife.  All  the  marked 
men  accordingly  claim  the  prize;  and  the  craft  of  the 
Shifty  Lad  is  once  more  called  into  practice,  to  secure 
the  maiden  for  himself.     . 

From  the  comparison  of  these  popular  tales  with  each 
other  we  can  see  their  common  origin.  Nations  so 
widely  separated  as  the  Norsemen,  Hindoos,  Spaniards, 
Egyptians  and  the  early  inhabitants  of  Scotland,  could 
not  have  borrowed  these  stories  from  each  other  Their 
resemblances — a  thief  of  wonderful  cunning,  his  suc- 
cesses and  escapes,  and  final  honor — all  point  to  the  fact 
that  they  are  but  different  versions  of  the  same  story. 
This  one  story  could  not  have  been  communicated  by 
one  nation  to  the  others,  and  as  the  only  way  to  account 
for  the  resemblances  we  are  shut  up  to  believe  that  the 
nations  long  ago  all  lived  in  one  home,  from  which  they 
afterward  separated  to  go  to  the  different  lands  of  their 
final  settlements. 

When  we  add  to  this  evidence,  that  from  the  sameness 
in  the  ideas  of  God  held  by  the  different  nations  in  their 
descriptions  of  His  power,  and  even  in  the  very  names 
by  which  they  designated  God,  we  are  carried  back  to 
the  early  worship  of  the  race,  and  we  see  from  all  these 
evidences  that,  originally,  man  worshiped  one  God.  The 
human  race  did  not  begin  life  on  the  earth  as  a  savage, 
or  as  a  child,  and  was  not  developed  from  this  condition 
to  a  hiorher  state  of  intellisfence ;  but  man  beo-an  life  as 

o  o  o 

a  full-formed,  mature,  intelligent  creature.  From  this 
high  vantage  ground  he  has  descended,  first,  to  the  \vbr- 
ship  of  many  gods,  and  later  on,  of  idols. 

Such  degeneration  has  often  happened  in  the  history 


THE   WORLD'S  FIRST  WORSHIP.  . -, 

of  the  world.  The  descendants  of  powerful  nations 
have,  in  the  lapse  of  years,  become  far  inferior  to  their 
ancestors.  For  example,  the  ancient  Egyptians  have  left 
monuments  whose  construction  baffles  us.  We  cannot 
imagine  how  they  have  raised  and  posed  the  immense 
stones,  nor  can  we  ascertain  the  purpose  of  many  of 
their  buildings.  We  talk  of  "lost  arts"  and  "lost  civili- 
zations."  We  know  that  it  has  often  happened  that  edu- 
cated colored  people  from  the  southern  United  States, 
have  sunk  to  the  low  level  of  the  people  of  Africa  when 
they  have  returned  to  the  land  of  their  fathers.  From 
the  Bible  narrative,  as  well  as  from  the  most  ancient  tra- 
ditions of  heathen  nations,  we  learn  that  at  the  first,  man 
held  close  intercourse  with  God  and  that  he  held  this 
pure  worship  during  many  centuries.  The  traditions  of 
ancient  nations  confirm  the  Bible  account  of  the  hieh 
position  of  man  at  the  outset. 

In  the  Avesta,  the  sacred  book  of  the  Parsees,  who  are 
known  also  as  fire-worshipers,  we  are  told  that  the  first 
king,  Jemshid,  and  his  subjects,  after  living  for  a  time  in 
the  original  home  of  the  race  of  mankind,  removed  to  a 
secluded  spot  not  far  distant.  Here, there  "was  neither 
overbearing  nor  mean-spiritedness,  neither  stupidity  nor 
violence,  neither  poverty  nor  deceit,  neither  puniness  nor 
deformity,  neither  huge  teeth  nor  bodies  beyond  the 
usual  measure.  The  inhabitants  suffered  no  defilement 
from  the  evil  spirit.  They  dwelt  among  odoriferous  trees 
and  golden  pillars;  these  were  the  largest,  best  and 
most  beautiful  on  earth;  they  were  themselves  a  tall  and 
beautiful  race."  The  Mexicans  tell  of  the  "eolden  ag-e 
of  Tezenco."  The  Peruvian  tradition  begins  with  the 
stor\'  of  the  two  children  of  the  Sun,  who  established  a 
civilized  country  on  the  banks  of  Lake  Titicaca.  Hesiod 
records  the  Greek  tradition  thus: 


..  ERROR'S   CHAINS. 

"  The  immortal  gods,  that  tread  the  courts  of  heaven, 
First  made  a  golden  race  of  men. 
Like  gods  they  lived,  with  happy,  careless  souls, 
From  toil  and  pain  exempt ;  nor  on  them  crept 
Wretched  old  age,  but  all  their  life  was  passed 
In  feasting,  and  their  limbs  no  changes  knew. 
Nouglit  evil  came  them  nigh ;  and  when  they  died, 
'Twas  but  as  if  they  were  overcome  by  sleep. 
All  good  things  were  their  portion  :   the  fat  soil 
Bare  them  its  fruits  spontaneous,  fruit  ungrudged 
And  plentiful ;   they,  at  their  own  sweet  will. 
Pursued  in  peace  the  tasks  that  seemed  them  good. 
Laden  with  blessings,  rich  in  flocks,  and  dear 
To  the  great  gods." 

The  Chinese  and  Hindoo  traditions  also  point  back 
to  the  beginning  of  the  history  of  the  human  race  as  a 
time  of  happiness  and  perfection.  In  those  early  ages 
man  lived  a  long  life,  and  so  the  early  worship  of  the  one 
God  could  be  handed  down  from  age  to  age  with  scarce 
a  chance  of  changfe.  Thus  we  are  brouo^ht  down  to  the 
time  of  the  Delude.  While  there  was  a  o-eneral  ten- 
dency  to  evil  on  the  part  of  all  the  descendants  of  Adam, 
God  preserved  some  pure  characters,  such  as  Enoch  and 
Noah,  who  kept  the  truth  from  utterly  perishing  from  off 
the  earth.  On  account  of  the  increasing  wickedness  of 
mankind,  God  sent  the  Deluge,  which  destroyed  all  the 
race,  Noah  and  his  family  alone  excepted.  This  we 
learn  not  only  from  the  Bible,  but  from  Chinese,  Hindoo, 
Egyptian,  Greek  and  Mexican  traditions.  Soon  after 
this  deluge,  the  descendants  of  Noah  multiplied  greatly, 
and  on  account  of  their  wicked  attempt  to  build  the 
tower  of  Babel,  God  confused  their  language.  Thus  the 
great  dispersion  of  nations  was  brought  about,  through 
their  inability  to  communicate  with  each  other  by  means 
of  speech.     They  separated  inevitably  from  each  other. 


THE   WORLD'S  FIRST  WORSHIP. 


THE     DISPERSION     OF     NATIONS. 


45 


Somewhere  to  the  north  of  Persia,  in  the  land  of 
Khiva,  was  probably  the  second  cradle  of  the  race.  This 
land  is  now  the  central  meeting  place  of  empires ;  here, 
Russia  from  the  north,  England,  through  India,  from  the 
south,  and  the  European  powers  from  the  west  are  com- 
ing together.  This  was  the  point  of  departure  whence 
the  nations  started  for  their  future  homes.  From  the 
three  sons  of  Noah  came  the  nations  by  whom  the  whole 
earth  was  overspread.  Let  us  keep  in  mind  that  Noah's 
worship  of  God  was  pure,  that  he  preserved  the  true 
faith  in  Jehovah,  that  he  handed  this  to  his  sons,  and  that 
the  degeneration  into  the  worship  of  many  gods  and 
idols  took  place  later  in  history.  The  religion  of  the 
world  was  still  one.  Not  that  all  men  accepted  it,  for 
many  wickedly  rebelled  against  it,  but  the  knowledge  of 
the  true  God  was  too  fresh  in  their  minds  for  them  to  set 
up  other  gods  for  themselves.  Not  only  this,  but  while 
they  were  all  together,  each  new  generation  received  in- 
struction from  those  who  did  worship  God  in  the  right 
way.  //  was  only  when  they  wei'e  scattered  and  left  solely 
to  their  recollections  of  these  teachings,  that  their  religions 
bega?t  gradnally  to  differ  from  that  which  they  had  known 
when  together.  Then,  also,  the  peoples  began  to  differ 
from  each  other;  then  those  who  went  to  the  cold  north 
or  warmer  south,  to  the  isles  of  the  sea  or  to  inland 
hills  and  valleys,  gradually  changed  their  habits  of  life 
and  worsb'*?'  according  to  their  surroundines.  From 
the  m.ountains  of  Armenia,  where  Noah  landed  from 
the  ark,  the  streams  of  population  poured  forth  to 
all  parts  of  the  world;  north-west  to  Europe,  west  to 
Asia  Minor,  south-west  to  Egypt  and  Africa,  south  to 
Arabia,  south-east  to  Persia  and  India,  and  east  to  China. 

3 


46 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


Of  course,  this  was  not  the  work  of  a  day.  It  took  ages 
for  the  nations  to  reach  the  more  distant  lands;  ages  for 
them  to  become  settled  in  their  new  homes;  ages  for 
them  to  people  these  lands  densely.  Hundreds  of  years 
after  the  deluge,  some  of  the  peoples  who  reached  the 
western  shores  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  who  ventured 
on  its  waters,  were  carried  away  on  the  stream  whose 
currents  sweep  to  the  north,  then  to  the  east,  and  thence 
down  again  to  the  south.  It  has  happened  in  the  last 
few  centuries  that  Malays  and  Japanese  sailors  have  thus 
been  swept  away  by  the  Kuro  Shiwo  (Black  Stream). 
Thus,  in  all  probability,  the  continent  of  America  was 
peopled.  Thus  the  present  Japanese  nation  originated 
from  the  mixing  of  these  Malays  from  south-eastern 
Asia  and  the  Ainos,  the  nation  which  had  made  its  way 
overland  to  Japan, 

In  the  lang-uaofes  and  traditions  of  these  nations,  even 
after  they  were  well  settled,  are  to  be  found  traces  of 
Monotheism.  Not  distinct  and  clear,  it  is  true,  for  the 
Polytheistic  worship  of  after  ages  has  destroyed  to  a 
great  extent  these  indications  of  the  early  worship  of 
one  God,  and  yet  in  almost  all  systems  of  religion  a  su- 
preme place  is  given  to  some  one  Deity,  who  is  above  all 
the  others,  and  who  is  recognized  as  the  ruler  of  all. 


48 


liA'A'OK'S   CHAINS. 


not  very  numerous.  The  course  of  ages  has  destroyed, 
or  at  least  altered,  many  of  the  early  records.  It  is  like 
those  old  manuscripts  from  which  some  economical  scribe 

has  rubbed  out 
all  the  writing 
originally  there, 
to  make  way  for 
his  own  work. 
Can  these  faded 
palimpsests  be 
restored  ?  We 
must  look  down 
beneath  these 
uppermost  re- 
cords, beneath 
the  traditions, 
legends  and  sa- 
cred writingrs  of 
later  ages,  and 
we  can  then  dis- 
cover, but  faint- 
ly traceable  it 
is  true,  but  still 
worthy  of  trust, 
some  dim  out- 
lines of  the  in- 
troductions of 
Polytheism.  In  the  last  fifty  years,  wonderful  treasures 
of  information  have  been  brouorht  to  lieht,  and  scholars 
skilled  in  Eastern  learning  have  been  raised  up  to  aid  in 
bringing  this  information  more  fully  to  the  Western  world. 
English,  German  and  American  students  have  given  us 
the  sacred  books  of  Hindus,  Parsees  and  other  peoples, 
and  the  story  of  their  work  is  intensely  interesting. 


ANCIENT  SERPENT  IDOL. 


WHENCE  CAME   THE  MANY  GODS  AND  IDOLS?  ^g 


SOURCES   OF    INFORMATI(3N. 

The  Vedas,  the  sacred  books  of  the  Hindus,  are  the 
oldest  existing  sacred  writings,  excepting  those  from 
which  Moses  compiled  the  earlier  chapters  of  Genesis. 
In  these  Vedas  there  is  little  of  the  confused  mass  of 
mythological  statements,  gross  superstitions  and  the  hosts 
of  gods  of  later  Brahminism.  Here  is  presented  a  pic- 
ture of  the  simple  nature-worship  of  the  people  of  India 
in  their  earliest  history.  Having  been  composed  so  soon 
after  the  dispersion  of  the  nations,  or  rather  the  hymns 
contained  in  it  having  been  handed  down  by  word  of 
mouth  from  generation  to  generation,  it  is  a  very  valuable 
source  of  information  just  here.  Before  the  beginning 
of  this  century  the  Vedas  were  almost  unknown  to 
European  scholars.  Since  that  time  great  attention  has 
been  devoted  to  the  subject,  especially  since  Max  Miiller 
went  to  England  to  seek  the  aid  of  Englishmen,  and  more 
particularly  of  the  East  India  Company,  in  publishing  his 
translation  of  the  Vedas.  At  present  we  can  read  them 
for  ourselves  in  tolerably  accurate  translations. 

Until  within  a  hundred  years,  there  was  no  direct  vv^ay 
of  learning  of  the  faith,  and  'manners,  and  customs  of 
ancient  Persia.  It  was  known  that  there  was  an  author- 
itative record  of  the  earliest  Persian  religion,  a  Bible  of 
the  Parsees,  but  no  European  had  ever  read  it.  In  1754, 
a  young  French  student  of  Paris,  chanced  to  see  a  few 
lines  of  an  ancient  manuscript  in  an  unknown  language. 
He  at  once  determined  to  o-o  to  Persia,  or  India,  whence 
the  manuscript  had  come,  and  to  learn  more  about  it.  As 
he  could  not  secure  the  means  for  the  journey,  in  any 
other  why,  he  enlisted  as  a  private  soldier  to  go  to  India. 
Just  before  sailing,  however,  he  received  the  means  to  go, 
and  his  discharge  from  the  army.      He  traveled  through 


50 


E JUROR'S   CHAINS. 


India  until  he  came  to  the  borders  o.  Persia.  From  some 
Parsee  priests  he  learned  the  language,  and  gained  some 
slight  knowledge  of  the  Zend-Avesta,  the  Parsees'  Bible. 
He  pursued  his  investigations  for  four  years  more,  and 
then  published  his  translation  of  the  Avesta,  But  his  work 
was  incomplete,  and  while  he  rendered  a  great  service  to 
the  world  in  showing  the  way  to  a  knowledge  of  the 
Avesta,  it  was  left  for  later  scholars  more  fully  and  accu- 
rately to  prepare  the  translation  of  the  book.  The  an- 
cient Egyptian  sacred  books  have  been  almost  wholly 
lost,  it  is  believed.  Just  enough  remains  to  give  us  the 
outlines  of  their  early  worship. 

Another  source  of  information  is  the  ancient  monu- 
ments. It  was  the  custom  of  Oriental  people  to  pre- 
serve important  parts  of  their  history  by  engraving  and 
carving  descriptions  of  them  on  their  memorial  stones. 
When  it  is  remembered  that  all  knowledge  of  the  char- 
acters or  letters  in  which  these  inscriptions  are  made  had 
faded  away,  we  can  see  how  difficult  the  task  of  explain- 
ing them  must  have  been.  By  careful  comparisons  and 
patient  Investigations  methods  of  interpreting  them  were 
devised.  These  were  severally  tried  ;  if  found  not  to  be 
capable  of  successful  application  they  were  rejected ; 
and  thus  one  plan  after  another  was  tried  until  the 
right  one  was  found.  Some  of  the  inscriptions  were  In 
tlie  form  of  pictures  with  combinations  of  syllables  added, 
or  hie7^oglyphics,  as  they  are  called.  From  these  monu- 
ments a  great  deal  has  been  learned  about  the  early 
history  and  worship  of  the  nations. 

From  these  sacred  books,  the  traditions  of  the  nations, 
and  from  tracing  back  the  development  of  religions 
with  the  aid  of  monumental  inscriptions,  we  get  a  toler- 
ably clear  picture  of  the  passing  from  the  worship  of  the 
one  God  Into  the  worship  of  many  gods  and  Idols.     This 


WHENCE  CAME  THE  MANY  GODS  AND  IDOLS?  rj 

change  took  place  gradually,  not  abruptly.  It  was  a 
result  of  the  natural  degeneration  of  the  race.  There 
were  certain  depraved  tendencies  of  the  human  heart 
which  brought  it  about.  It  was  a  work  of  time  to  develop 
these  and  give  them  full  play.  We  must  keep  in  mind 
these  facts  and  the  condition  of  the  human  race  just  at 
this  time,  if  we  would  correctly  apprehend  this  change 
and  its  slowly-moving  but  efficient  causes. 

THE    TRANSITION. 

The  worship  of  one  God  passed  into  the  worship  of 
the  powers  and  objects  of  nature.  This  grew  out  of  a 
natural  awe  at  the  sight  of  the  mighty  forces  evidendy 
at  work  and  yet  inexplicable  to  the  nations  in  their 
uncultured  state.  Their  habits  of  life  were  simple. 
While  they  journeyed,  as  they  tilled  their  fields,  or  fed 
their  flocks,  their  attention  was  drawn  to  the  sky,  now 
clear,  now  cloudy;  to  the  sun,  now  shining  in  beauty,  now 
obscured  in  the  darkness  of  night;  to  the  day-dawn  and 
the  sunset,  to  the  resurrection  of  vegetable  life  in  the 
spring,  the  growth  of  crops  through  the  heatof  summer,  the 
ripening  harvests  of  autumn,  and  the  cold  of  winter  and 
the  barrenness  of  earth.  They  gazed  in  awe  upon  the 
storms;  upon  the  lightning  as  it  glared  in  the  midst  of  the 
dark,  black  clouds ;  upon  the  tall  trees  bending  beneath 
the  strong  winds ;  upon  the  mountains  shaking  in  the 
earthquake  or  vomiting  their  contents  with  rumblings, 
and  flame,  and  smoke.  They  listened  in  astonishment  to 
the  noise  of  thunder,  to  the  whistling,  and  sighing,  and 
roaring  of  the  wind.  With  wonder  they  saw  the  earth 
into  which  they  cast  their  seed  return  it  to  them  in  the 
manifold  harvest;  they  watched  the  fruits  and  grains 
mature  and  ripen.  All  about  them  mysterious  processes 
were  going  on,  which  they  could  not  comprehend.     Were 


52 


EKHOK'S   CHAINS. 


these  processes  moved  by  a  Strong  Arm  ?  were  they 
under  the  control  of  a  Mighty  Power?  or  were  they  self- 
moved  and  guided  by  their  own  inner,  hidden  forces? 

Contact  with  nature  kindles  the  imagination.  In  early 
days  almost  all  of  the  nations  were  herdsmen  and 
agriculturists.  Their  dwellings  were  simple  and  such  as 
each  could  erect  for  himself;  their  food  was  such  as  each 
could  provide  for  himself  by  the  chase,  or  from  his  own 
flocks  or  from  his  own  fields.  A  few  were  selected  to 
be  the  rulers  of  the  rest,  or  to  pursue  some  simple 
mechanical  pursuits.  But  the  majority  were  brought 
into  the  closest  contact  with  nature.  Their  poetic  imagi- 
nations began  to  see  life  in  nature's  powers  and  objects, 
they  began  to  personify  these  and  then  to  people  them 
with  creatures  of  their  own  minds'  making.  They  saw 
reflected  their  own  passions  and  conditions  in  the  events 
of  nature.  They  credited  the  beings  dwelling  in  the 
skies,  or  storms,  or  stars,  with  feelings,  passions,  quarrels 
like  their  own.  When  the  sky  was  clear,  when  the  winds 
were  gentle,  when  the  seas  and  lakes  were  unruffled 
in  .  their  calm  repose,  when  the  destructive  powers  of 
nature  were  at  rest,  they  Imagined  that  these  beings  were 
at  peace  among  themselves.  But  when  the  skies  were 
overcast,  when  the  winds  arose  in  fury,  when  earth  and 
sea  were  convulsed,  these  beings  were  angry  and  at  war 
with  each  other.  Findino-  themselves  unable  to  contend 
with  these  strong  powers,  unable  to  resist  their  over- 
whelming influences,  they  gradually  recognized  the  beings 
dwelling  in  them  as  superior  to  themselves,  and  their 
awe  and  mystery  led  them  to  give  these  superior  beings 
the  place  of  gods.  They  could  not  prevent  die  sun  from 
taking  his  departure  at  the  close  of  day.  They  could 
not  resist  the  strong  force  of  wind  or  wave.  They 
were  mere  driven  chaff;  as  pygmies  whom  these  giants 


WHENCE  CAME  THE  MANY  GODS  AND  IDOLS?  r^ 

could  easily  overthrow ;  as  creatures  of  a  day  in  the 
presence  of  these,  seemingly,  ever-enduring  beings.  So 
man  passed  from  the  worship  of  God  to  the  worship  of 
the  works  and  forces  which  God  had  made ;  from  rev- 
erence for  the  Creator  to  reverence  for  the  created. 

THE    FIRST    HYMNS    AND    PRAYERS. 

Reverence  for  the  gods  was  not  merely  a  silent  observ- 
ance and  awe-stricken  contemplation  of  the  great  powers 
at  work  in  nature.  The  observers  felt  that  these  beings 
held  some  relation  to  themselves,  and  that  praises, 
prayers  and  offerings  would  not  only  be  acceptable  to 
the  gods,  but  that  they  were  really  demanded  in  order  to 
avert  the  anger  of  the  gods  or  secure  their  favor.  Hence 
the  earliest  literature  of  the  race  is  devoted  to  singing  the 
praises  or  invoking  the  aid  of  the  gods.  Priests  were 
soon  selected  to  represent  the  people  at  the  seasons  of 
sacrifice  and  to  give  themselves  more  continually  to 
prayer  than  would  be  possible  to  men  generally.  The 
worship  of  these  early  days  was  exceedingly  simple  and 
the  priests  possessed  no  unusual  powers.  As  Whittier 
has  expressed  it : 

"The  morning  twilight  of  the  race 

Sends  down  these  matin  psahns  ; 
And  still  with  wondering  eyes  we  trace 
The  simple  prayers  to  Luna's  grace, 

That  Vedic  verse  embalms." 

The  American  Indians,  the  Aztecs  of  western  South 
America,  the  early  Hindoos,  the  Chinese  and  the  Parsees 
all  exhibit  in  their  sacred  writings  this  nature-worship. 
Traces  of  it  are  still  to  be  seen  in  the  Parsees'  worship  of 
the  sun,  in  the  worship  of  heaven  and  earth  among  the 
Chinese,  in  the  Indians'  reverence  for  the  Great  Spirit,  in 


CA  ERROJi'S   CHAINS. 

the  Peruvian  sun-worship  and  in  many  other  features  of 
worship  among  the  heathen  nations  of  to-day. 

Let  us  look  at  some  specimens  of  early  religious 
poetry.  The  first  is  from  Monier  Williams'  transla- 
tions of  the  Vedas.  Varuna  is  the  cjod  of  the  "moist- 
ing  sk)'-,"  Agni  is  the  god  of  fire,  Surya,  the  sun-god, 
Indra  the  atmosphere-god. 

"  The  mighty  Varuna,  who  rules  above,  looks  down 
Upon  these  worlds,  his  kingdom,  as  if  close  at  hand. 
When  men  imagine  they  do  aught  by  stealth,  he  knows  it. 
No  one  can  stand,  or  walk,  or  softly  glide  along, 
Or  hide  in  dark  recess,  or  lurk  in  secret  cell, 
But  Varuna  detects  him,  and  his  movements  spies. 
Two  persons  may  devise  some  plot,  together  sitting. 
And  think  themselves  alone ;  but  he,  the  king,  is  there — 
A  third — and  sees  it  all.     His  messengers  descend 
Countless  from  his  abode,  forever  traversing 
This  world,  and  scanning  with  a  thousand  eyes  its  inmates. 
Whate'er  exists  within  this  earth,  and  all  within  the  sky, 
Yea,  all  that  is  beyond.  King  Varuna  perceives. 
The  winkings  of  men's  eyes  are  numbered  all  by  him: 
He  wields  the  universe  as  gamesters  handle  dice. 

"  Indra,  twin-brother  of  the  god  of  fire, 
When  thou  wast  born,  thy  mother  Aditi, 
Gave  thee,  her  lusty  child,  the  thrilling  draught 
Of  mountain-growing  Soma — source  of  life 
And  never-dying  vigor  to  thy  frame. 
Thou  art  our  guardian,  advocate  and  friend, 
A  brother,  father,  mother — all  combined. 

*  Most  fatherly  of  fathers,  we  are  thine, 
And  thou  art  ours.     Oh  !  let  thy  pitying  soul 
Turn  to  us  in  compassion  when  we  praise  thee. 
And  slay  us  not  for  one  sin  or  for  many. 
Deliver  us  to-day,  to-morrow,  every  day. 
Vainly  the  demon  dares  thy  might ;  in  vain 
Strives  to  deprive  us  of  thy  watery  treasures. 
Earth  quakes  beneath  the  crashing  of  thy  bolts. 


WHENCE  CAME   THE  MANY  GODS  AND  IDclS?  ce 

Pierced,  shattered  lies  the  foe — his  cities  crushed^ 
His  armies  overthrown,  his  fortresses 
Shivered  to  fragments ;  then  the  pent-up  waters, 
Released  from  long  imprisonment,  descend 
In  torrents  to  the  earth,  and  swollen  rivers. 
Foaming  and  rolling  to  their  ocean-home. 
Proclaim  the  triumph  of  the  Thunderer. 

"  Agni,  thou  art  a  sage,  a  priest,  a  king, 
Protector,  father  of  the  sacrifice. 
Commissioned  by  us  men,  thou  dost  ascend 
A  messenger,  conveying  to  the  sky 
Our  hymns  and  offerings.     Though  thy  origin 
Be  threefold,  now  from  air,  and  now  from  water. 
Now  from  the  mystic  double  Arani, 
Thou  art  thyself  a  mighty  god,  a  lord. 
Giver  of  life  and  immortality. 
One  in  thy  essence,  but  to  mortals  three ; 
Displaying  thine  eternal  triple  form. 
As  fire  on  earth,  as  lightning  in  the  air, 
As  sun  in  heaven.     Thou  art  the  cherished  guest 
In  every  household — father,  brother,  son, 
Friend,  benefactor,  guardian — all  in  one. 
Deliver,  mighty  lord,  thy  worshipers. 
Purge  us  from  taint  of  sin,  and  when  we  die. 
Deal  mercifully  with  us  on  the  pyre. 
Burning  our  bodies  with  their  load  of  guilt, 
But  bearing  our  eternal  part  on  high 
To  luminous  abodes  and  realms  of  bliss, 
Forever  there  to  dwell  with  righteous  men. 

*'  Behold  the  rays  of  Dawn,  like  heralds,  lead  on  high 
The  Sun,  that  men  may  see  the  great  all-knowing  god. 
The  stars  slink  off  like  thieves,  in  company  with  night, 
Before  the  all-seeing  eye,  whose  beams  reveal  his  presence. 
Gleaming  like  brilliant  flames,  to  nation  after  nation. 
Surya,  with  flaming  locks,  clear-sighted  god  of  day, 
Thy  seven  ruddy  mares  bear  on  thy  rushing  car. 
With  these  thy  self-yoked  steeds,  seven  daughters  of  thy  chariot, 
Onward  thou  dost  advance.     To  thy  refulgent  orb. 
Beyond  this  lower  gloom,  and  upward  to  the  light 
Would  we  ascend,  O  Sun,  thou  god  among  the  gods." 


^,6 


E JUROR'S    CHAINS. 


The  Samoyedes  thus  addressed  Jumala,  the  god  of 
the  ah": 

"  Harness  now  thyself,  Jumala, 
Ruler  of  the  air,  thy  horses  ! 
Bring  them  forth,  thy  rapid  racers. 
Drive  the  sledge  with  glittering  colors. 
Passing  through  our  bones,  our  ankles, 
Through  our  flesh  that  shakes  and  trembles. 
Through  our  veins  which  seem  all  broken. 
Knit  the  flesh  and  bones  together, 
Fasten  vein  to  vein  more  firmly, 
Let  our  joints  be  filled  with  silver, 
Let  our  veins  with  gold  be  running  !" 

The  principal  Chinese  deities  are  called  Tien-ChI,  or 
Heaven  and  Earth.  Confucius  preserved  in  his  writings 
the  ancient  worship  of  these  gods.  The  Mongolians 
also  worshiped  the  Teng-Ri,  or  god  of  the  sky.  The 
Chinese  have  for  centuries  believed  in  "celestial  spirits," 
as  they  call  them,  spirits  of  the  sun,  and  moon,  and  stars; 
spirits  of  clouds,  winds,  rain  and  thunder;  spirits  ol 
mountains,  fields,  rivers,  grains  and  trees.  All  these  were 
reverenced  as  gods.  So  the  Egyptians  worshiped  natu- 
ral objects  and  powers.  Indeed,  every  one  of  the  re- 
ligions which  existed  in  antiquity,  and  of  which  anything 
is  known,  possessed  nature-worship  as  their  primary  ele- 
ment. The  ancient  religions  which  continue  unto  this 
day,  also  possess  this  characteristic,  and  though  covered 
with  the  debris  and  overgrowth  of  centuries  of  supersti- 
tious teachings,  still  it  is  to  be  distinctly  traced. 

WHERE    DID    IDOL-WORSHIP    COME    FROM  ? 

Thus  far  we  have  no  trace  of  any  other  than  the  direct 
worship  either  of  God;  or  of  the  invisible  spirits,  or  gods, 
that  were  supposed  to  dwell  in  the  objects  of  nature;  or 
of  those  objects  themselves.    As  yet  no  attempt  had  been 


WHENCE  CAME    THE  MANY  GODS  AND  IDOLS? 


57 


made  to  represent  them  by  images  or  idols.  When, 
where  and  how  did  the  worship  of  idols  take  its  rise? 
These  are  questions  difficult  to  answer.  In  the  Bible  the 
first  distinct  traces  of  idolatry  are  found  in  Genesis  xxxi, 
19,  where  we  read  that  "Rachel  had  stolen  the  images 
that  were  her  father's."  These  images,  or  idols,  or  gods, 
as  both  Jacob  and  Laban  term  them,  were  the  teraphim 
or  luck-givers.  They  had  a 
human  head  and  were  used  in 
divination  or  fortune-telling. 
They  were  consulted  as  oracles. 
But  these  could  hardly  have 
been  the  first  idols,  for  their 
idea  was  too  well  developed. 
There  must  have  been  a  grad- 
ual introduction  of  idols  and 
of  the  idea  of  making  repre- 
sentations of  the  gods.  The 
account  in  Genesis,  just  re- 
ferred to,  speaks  as  though  it 
were  no  unusual  thing  to  have 
gods;  there  is  no  expression 
of  strangeness  at  the  occur- 
rence, nor  anything  that  would 
indicate  that  these  were  the 
first  known  idols.  What  folio  ws  ■ 
is  suggested  as  the  probable  line  of  development  in  the 
idea  of  idols,  but  so  far  as  is  now  known,  there  is  no  way 
of  definitely  determining  the  question. 

Finding  it  difficult  to  fasten  their  thoughts  on  invisible, 
intangible  beings,  men,  at  the  beginning,  probably  sought 
to  aid  their  worship  by  selecting  some  object  to  represent 
the  being  worshiped.  This  object  was  not  to  be  wor- 
shiped in  and  for  itself,  but,  simply,  as  an  aid  to  devotion, 


TERAPHIM. 


58 


EJ^ROR-S   CHAIA'S. 


repi^esenting  the  being  worshiped.  Then,  gradually,  the 
worship  was  transferred  to  the  object  and  withdrawn 
from  the  being  represented.  Or,  it  may  be  that  the  being 
worshiped  was  supposed  in  some  manner  to  dwell  in  the 
idol,  and  was  worshiped  thus.  Or,  it  may  be  that  me- 
teoric stones  were  regarded  as  images  of  the  gods  sent 
down  from  the  heavens.  Or,  it  may  have  been  in  several 
of  these  ways,  or  in  all  combined.  The  aesthetic  tastes  of 
men  would  soon  lead  them  to  give  a  more  shapely  appear- 
ance to  the  meteoric  masses  of  stone,  and  then,  as  these 
must  of  necessity  be  scarce,  copies  of  them  were  sculptured. 
As  men  became  more  and  more  accustomed  to  these 

idols  and  less  and  less 
spiritual  in  their  worship 
they  would  venture  to 
give  expression  to  their 
ideas  of  the  unseen  gods. 
Other  materials  were 
used  and,  as  might  be 
required  by  the  materi- 
als, other  shapes  were 
of  necessity  given.  At 
first,  it  would  seem,  that 
only  representations  of 
animals  were  attempted, 
then,  as  in  the  teraphim, 
the  head  of  man  was 
attached  to  various  ani- 
mal forms,  as  also  in 
Dagon,  the  fish-god, 
which  was  a  human  fig- 
DAGON,  THE  FISH-GOD.  ^rc,  terminating  in  a  fish. 

When  this  introduction  of  idols  occurred,  we  cannot 
tell ;  probably,  not  long  after  the  worship  of  nature  had 


WHENCE  CAME   THE  MANY  GODS  AND  IDOLS? 


59 


become  established,  and  the  worship  of  one  God  had 
been  generally  forgotten.  Not  very  much  more  than 
one  hundred  and  fifty  years  elapsed  between  the  death 
of  Noah  and  the 
birth  of  Jacob,  so 
that  in  all  prob- 
ability idols  had 
not  long  been  in 
use  when  this  in- 
cident of  Jacob 
and  Laban  took 
place.  Not  long 
after  this  time  the 
full  human  fio-ure 
was  used  in  idol 
representations, 
and  in  a  short 
period  a  collec- 
tionof  idols  would 
have  represent- 
ed almost  every 
conceivable  ob- 
ject, and  being, 
and  creature  of 
the  wild  fancy  of  -^^ 


man.  These  were 
made  of  all  man- 
ner of  materials,  of  all  shapes  and  sizes.  The  highest 
conceptions  of  art  were  lavished  on  some  of  these  idols, 
and  at  the  same  time  the  rudest  notions  of  the  most 
barbarous  nations  were  also  expressed  in  them.  The 
word  idol  originally  meant  simply  an  image,  and  only  in 
after  ages  was  an  idol  regarded  as  itself  a  divine  thing 
or  being,  rather  than  merely  an  image  of  it. 


ANCIENT  SERPENT  IDOL. 


6o 


ERROR  S   CIIAIXS. 


Thus  we  have  traced  the  worship  of  the  world  down 
through  the  ages  of  antiquity.  We  have  had  to  rely  upon 
other  than  merely  historic  sources  of  information.  We 
have  seen  the  gradual  introduction  of  Polytheism  (many 
gods'  worship),  and  of  idolatry  (the  worship  of  visible 
forms).  For  the  rest  of  our  way  the  light  shines  more 
and  more  clearly.  Historic  times  are  now  reached,  and 
we  shall  find  much  less  difficulty  in  tracing  the  stories  of 
religions  ;  and  we  shall  also  find  data  from  which  we  may 
reason  back,  and  so  find  confirmation  of  what  has  thus 
far  been  of  necessity  somewhat  shadowy. 


GROUP  OF  ALTARS. 

ROMAN.  ASSYRIAN.  EGYPTIAN.  EGYPTIAN.  ASSYRIAN. 

BABYLONIAN.  GRECIAN.  GRECIAN.  PERSIAN. 

Before  passing  to  these,  however,  we  shall  turn  aside 
for  a  little  to  consider  the  testimony  which  ancient 
heathen  records  and  traditions  furnish  on  the  genuine- 
ness of  the  Bible  history,  and  also  to  notice  the  singular 
system  of  Hebrew  worship,  standing  alone  like  a  green 
oasis  in  the  weary  wastes  of  heathenism. 


IDOL  FROM  HINDUSTAN. 


SACRED  AND  HEAlhEN  TRADITIONS. 


^Z 


CHAPTER   III. 

SACRED    AND     HEATHEN    TRADITIONS. 

What  appears  to  be  of  most  importance  is,  the  fact,  attested  by  the 
hieroglyphic  paintings  of  the  Mexican,  as  well  as  by  the  tales  now 
current  in  all  quarters  from  the  Arctic  Ocean  to  Cape  Horn,  that  one 
of  these  great  periods,  called  "the  Age  of  Waters,"  closed  with  a 
convulsion,  the  account  of  which,  in  all  its  broader  outlines,  is  re- 
markably akin  to  the  Mosaic  record  of  the  Deluge. — Archdeacon 
Charles  Hardwick. 

FROM  time  to  time  during  the  past  half  century 
travelers  have  unearthed  traditions  from  among 
heathen  nations  concerning  the  early  history  of 
the  world.  They  have  deciphered  inscriptions,  found  the 
key  to  the  hieroglyphics,  or  writings  whose  letters  were 
yet  pictures  in  form,  and,  by  questioning,  learned  from 
the  heathen  peoples  themselves  of  traditions  and  legends 
which  bear  upon  the  prominent  events  of  early  history. 
These  narratives  are  from  a  variety  of  sources  and  from 
peoples  differing  widely  in  locality,  language  and  civiliza- 
tion. They  are  matters  of  curious  interest,  and  they 
serve  to  confirm  the  Biblical  stories  of  the  creation,  deluge, 
dispersion  of  the  races  and  other  events.  They  agree  to 
a  great  extent  among  themselves,  just  as  far  as  is  really 
possible  considering  the  changing  circumstances  of  the 
peoples  who  hold  them.  But  they  serve  another  and 
more  important  purpose  to  us  just  here.  They  throw 
much  light  on  the  early  histor)^  of  the  religions  of  which 
they  form  a  part.     They  confirm  the  idea  of  the  original 


64 


£/^A'OA''S   CHAINS, 


unity  of  the  race  and  of  the  early  existence  of  one  reli- 
gion for  the  world. 

The  oldest  civilizations  of  the  world  are,  respectively, 
those  of  Egypt,  Babylon,  Phenicia,  the  Hindu  and  the 
Greek.  Among  each  of  these  the  traditions  of  the  early 
events  referred  to  above  are  found.  Almost,  though  not 
quite,  all  the  nations  of  the  world  try  to  give  some  account 
of  the  origin  of  the  world  and  of  nations.  Many  of  the 
uncivilized  peoples,  as  the  Indians  of  America,  the  Mex- 
icans and  the  Pacific  Islanders,  have  some  popular  stories 
of  the  deluge.  We  propose  to  place  side  by  side  some 
of  these,  that  they  may  be  compared  with  each  other. 
The  traditions  of  the  creation  are  often  mixed  up  with 
those  of  the  deluee  or  the  re-creation,  and  we  g^ive  of 
them  the  versions  accepted  by  the  best  scholars. 

TRADITIONS    OF    CREATION. 

Among  many  peoples  is  found  the  teaching  that  man 
was  made  of  the  dust  of  the  earth.  The  Greeks  repre- 
sent Prometheus  as  moulding  from  clay  the  first  human 
beings,  and  giving  them  life  by  means  of  fire  which  he  stole 
from  heaven.  The  Peruvians  called  the  first  man  Alpa 
Camasca,  or  "animated  earth."  The  Mandans,  a  tribe  of 
Indians  of  North  America,  believed  that  the  Great  Spirit 
formed  two  figures  of  clay,  which  he  dried  and  animated 
by  the  breath  of  his  mouth.  To  the  one  was  given  thf; 
name  of  the  "first  man,"  to  the  other,  "companion."  The 
Otaheitans  said  that  God  made  man  of  red  earth,  and 
the  Dyacks  of  Borneo,  that  he  had  been  made  of  common 
dust.  The  Zoroastrians  (or  Parsees)  in  the  Bundehesh,  a 
book  containing  none  but  ancient  traditions,  have  many 
traditions  regarding  the  creation  and  fall  of  man.  The 
garden  of  Eden  was  undoubtedly  in  southern  Persia,  or 
near  by,  hence  these  are  traditions  which  have  lingered 


SACRED  AND  HEATHEN  TRADITIONS 


65 


around  the  spot  where  the  events  happened.  According 
to  the  Parsees,  there  was  a  garden  where  the  first  human 
beings  Hved,  and  in  it  two  trees,  the  one  bearing  "  Haoma," 
supposed  to  give  immortahty  to  those  who  drank  its 
juice.  (Haoma  and  the  Hindu  word  "Soma"  are 
probably  different  forms  of  one  word.  The  Hindu  Soma 
was  possessed  of  the  same  properties  as  the  Parsee 
Haoma).  Then  follows  a  story  of  the  first  temptation  oi 
man,  bearing  the  closest  resemblance  to  the  Bible  story, 
even  in  the  incident  of  the  tempter  having  taken  the 
form  of  a  serpent. 

The  Inhabitants  of  the  Caroline  Islands,  a  group  in 
Micronesia,  said:  "In  the  beginning  there  was  no  death, 
but  a  certain  Erigiregers,  who  was  one  of  the  evil  spirits, 
and  who  was  sorry  to  see  the  happiness  of  the  human 
race,  contrived  to  get  for  them  a  sort  of  death  from 
which  they  should  never  wake."  The  Hottentots  said 
that  "  their  first  parents  had  committed  so  great  a  fault, 
and  so  grievously  offended  the  Supreme  God,  that  he  had 
cursed  both  them  and  their  children." 

Berosus,  the  Chaldean,  read  from  the  inscriptions  on 
the  Assyrian  monuments,  the  tradition  that  there  had 
been  ten  kinoes  before  the  delude.  Ten  antediluvian 
heroes  are  mentioned  in  Genesis.  The  legends  of  the 
Parsees  say  the  same  thing.  In  India  the  traditions  tell 
of  nine  Brahmadlkas,  who,  with  Brahma,  the  first  of  all, 
make  ten,  whom  they  called  the  Ten  Fathers.  The 
Chinese  count  ten  emperors,  who  reigned  before  his- 
torical times  began.  There  is  a  multitude  of  correspond- 
ences similar  to  these.  These  are  selected  simply  as 
specimens.  There  is  another  tradition,  well-nigh  uni- 
versal, and  agreeing  in  all  important  particulars  as  told 
by  different  nations.  This  is  that  concerning  the  flood. 
In  addition    to   traditions   there  are   coins,  medals  and 


66 


EHJiOJi  S   a  JAINS. 


monumental  inscriptions  which  perpetuate  the  story,  as 
is  ilkistrated  in  the  specimen  coin  given  below. 

TRADITIONS    OF   THE    DELUGE. 

Let  us  keep  in  mind  the  differences  between  the  nations 
holding-  the  tradition.  It  was  impossible  for  them  to  have 
conferred  with  one  another,  or  to 
have  copied  from  each  other.  The 
confusion  of  languages,  their  wide 
separation  in  point  of  space  and  time, 
prevented  this.  The  oldest  historic 
nation,  Egypt,  having  lost  most  of 
its  sacred  books  before  they  were 
made  known  to  other  nations  or  even 
to  the  later  venerations  among-  them- 
selves,  possess  few  traces  of  the  tradition.  One  passage 
in  the  writings  of  Manetho,  the  historian,  distinctly  refers 
to  the  deluge.  "The  Book  of  the  Dead"  constantly  refers 
to  the  sun-god,  Ra,  as  voyaging  in  a  boat  on  the  celestial 
ocean,  and  Ra  is  said  to  have  been  so  disgusted  with  the 
insolence  of  men  that  he  determined  to  exterminate  the 
race. 

Clear  and  complete  is  the  account  which  Berosus 
has  preserved.  He  was  a  learned  Chaldean  priest,  liv- 
ing in  the  time  of  Alexander  the  Great,  about  325  B.  C, 
This  narrative  is  a  translation  made  from  the  inscriptions 
of  the  Assyrian  monuments,  and  compared  with  tradi- 
tions of  his  own  time. 


COIN  RKPRESENTING 
THE  DELUGE. 


THE    CHALDEAN    STORY. 


After  the  death  of  Ardates,  his  son,  Xisuthrus,  reigned 
eighteen  sort  (an  uncertain  period).  In  his  time  happened 
a  great  deluge,  the  history  of  which  is  thus  described : 
The  deity   Kronos    appeared    to    him    in    a  vision   and 


SACRED  AND  HEATHEN  TRADITIONS. 


67 


warned  him  that  on  the  15th  day  of  tbd  month  Daesius 
there  would  be  a  flood  by  which  mankind  would  be  de- 
stroyed. He  therefore  enjoined  him  to  write  a  history 
of  the  beginning,  course  and  end  of  all  things;  and  to 
bury  it  in  the  City  of  the  Sun,  at  Sippara.*  He  was  also 
to  build  a  vessel,  and  to  take  with  him  into  it  his  friends 
and  relatives,  he  was  to  put  on  board  of  it  food  and 
drink,  with  different  reptiles,  birds  and  quadrupeds.  As 
soon  as  he  had  made  all  arrangements  he  was  to  commit 
himself  to  the  deep.  Having  asked  the  Deity  whither 
he  was  to  sail,  he  was  answered:  "To  the  o:ods,  after 
having  offered  a  prayer  for  the  good  of  mankind." 
Whereupon,  not  being  disobedient  to  this  heavenly 
vision,  he  built  a  vessel  five  stadia  in  length  and  two  in 
breadth.  Into  this  he  put  everything  which  he  had  pre- 
pared, and  embarked  in  it  with  his  wife,  his  children  and 
his  personal  friends.  After  the  flood  had  been  upon  the 
earth  and  had  in  due  time  abated,  Xisuthrus  sent  out 
some  birds  from  the  vessel,  which  not  finding  any  food, 
nor  any  place  where  they  could  rest,  returned  to  the  ves- 
sel. After  an  interval  of  some  days,  Xisuthrus  sent  out 
the  birds  a  second  time,  and  now  they  returned  to  the 
ship  with  mud  on  their  feet.  A  third  time  he  repeated 
the  experiment  and  then  they  returned  no  more.  Xisu- 
thrus hence  judged  that  the  earth  was  visible  above  the 
waters,  and  accordingly  he  made  an  opening  in  the  ves- 
sel, and  seeing  that  it  was  stranded  upon  the  summit  of 
a  certain  mountain,  he  quitted  it  with  his  wife  and  daugh- 
ter and  the  pilot.  Having  then  paid  his  adoration  to  the 
earth,  and  having  built  an  altar  and  offered  sacrifice  to 
the  gods,  he,  together  with  those  who  had  left  the  vessel 

*  In  later  ages  the  scribes  of  Babylonia  wrote  important  matters  on  both  burnt 
and  unburnt  bricks.  One  would  be  left  unharmed  by  water,  while  the  other  was 
made  permanent  by  fire. 


5S  ERROH'S   CHAINS. 

with  him,  disappeared.  Those  who  had  remained  in  die 
vessel,  when  diey  found  diat  Xisuthrus  and  his  compan- 
ions did  not  return,  in  their  turn  left  the  vessel  and  began 
to  look  for  him,  calling  him  by  his  name.  Him  they  saw 
no  more,  but  a  voice  came  to  them  from  heaven,  bidding 
them  lead  pious  lives,  and  so  join  him  who  was  gone  to 
live  with  the  gods,  and  further  informing  them  that  his 
wife,  his  daughter  and  the  pilot  had  shared  the  same 
honor.  It  told  them,  moreover,  that  they  should  return 
to  Babylon,  and  how  it  was  ordained  that  they  should 
take  up  the  writings  that  had  been  buried  in  Sippara.and 
impart  them  to  mankind,  and  that  the  country  where 
they  then  were  was  the  land  of  Armenia.  Having  heard 
these  words  this  company  offered  sacrifices  to  the  gods, 
and  taking  a  circuit  journeyed  to  Babylon.  The  vessel 
having  been  thus  stranded  in  Armenia,  and  parts  of  it 
still  remaining  in  the  mountains  of  the  Corcyrseans  (or 
Cordyaeans,  i.  e.,  the  Kurds  of  Kurdistan),  in  Armenia, 
the  people  scrape  off  the  bitumen  from  the  vessel  and 
make  use  of  it  by  way  of  charms.  Now,  when  those 
who  were  so  commanded  returned  to  Babylon,  they  dug 
up  the  writings  which  had  been  buried  at  Sippara;  they 
also  founded  many  cities  and  built  temples,  and  thus  the 
country  of  Babylon  became  inhabited  again. 

The  Hindoo  narrative  has  been  colored  by  the  char- 
acter of  that  people,  but  yet  it  is  preserved  with  great 
accuracy,  and  possesses  many  points  of  likeness  to  the 
Biblical  story. 

THE    HINDOO   TRADITION. 

The  traditions  of  India  appear  in  many  forms.  The 
one  which  most  remarkably  agrees  with  the  Biblical  ac- 
count is  that  contained  In  the  Mahabharata,  We  are 
there  told  that  Brahma,  havincr  taken  the  form  of  a  fish, 


SACRED  AND  HEATHEN  TRADITIONS. 


69 


appeared  to  the  pious  Manu  (Satya,  i.  e.,  the  righteous, 
as  Noah  also  is  called)  on  the  banks  of  the  river  Wirini. 
Thence,  at  his  request,  Manu  transferred  him  to  the 
Ganges  when  he  had  grown-  bigger,  and  finally,  when  he 
was  too  large  for  even  the  Ganges,  to  the  ocean. 
Brahma  now  announces  to  Manu  the  approach  of  the 
Deluge,  and  bids  him  build  a  ship,  and  put  in  it  all  kinds 
of  seeds,  together  with  the  seven  Rishic,  or  holy  beings. 
The  flood  becrins  and  covers  the  whole  earth.  Brahma 
himself  appears  in  the  form  of  a  horned  fish  and  the  ves- 
sel being  made  fast  to  him,  he  draws  it  for  many  years, 
and  finally  lands  on  the  highest  summit  of  Mount  Hima- 
rat  {i.  e.,  the  Himalaya).  Afterwards,  by  the  command  of 
God,  the  ship  is  made  fast,  and  in  memory  of  the  event, 
the  mountain  is  called  Naubandhana  {i.  e.,  ship  bind- 
ing). By  the  favor  of  Brahma,  Manu,  after  the  Flood, 
creates  the  new  race  of  mankind,  which  is  thenceforth 
termed  Manudsha,  or  born  of  Manu. 

The  Chinese  story  is  sometimes  called  in  question  as 
possibly  not  referring  to  the  general  deluge,  but  to  some 
local  flood.  The  truth  is,  we  know  as  yet  comparatively 
little  about  the  story,  which  is  as  follows- 

THE    CHINESE    TRADITION. 

Fuh-he  is  the  reputed  founder  of  the  Chinese  civilization 
and  the  author  of  the  Yhi-kino-,  the  oldest  of  the  sacred 
books.  According  to  the  legend,  he  is  represented  as 
escaping  from  the  waters  of  a  deluge,  and  re-appearing 
as  the  first  man  at  the  production  of  a  renovated  world. 
He  Is  attended  by  seven  companions,  his  wife,  three  sons 
and  three  daughters. 

Dr.  Gutzlaff.  loni^-  a  resident  In  China,  says  that  he  saw 
In  one  of  the  Buddhist  temples  a  representation  of  the 
deluge   in   plaster  work.     Let   It  be  kept  in  mind,  that 


-,Q  ERJiOK'S   CHAINS. 

Buddhism  incorporated  in  every  land  to  which  it  went  all 
the  traditions,  myths  and  legends  which  it  found  current 
among  the  people.  "In  beautiful  stucco,"  Dr.  Gutzlaff 
says,  "was  depicted  the  scene  where  Kwan-Yin,  the 
Goddess  of  Mercy,  looks  down  from  heaven  upon  the 
lonely  Fuh-he  (or  Noah)  in  his  ark,  amidst  the  raging 
waves  of  a  delucre,  with  the  dove  with  an  olive  branch  in 
its  beak,  flying  toward  the  vessel." 

Passing  to  the  other  side  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  we  find 
among  the  Mexicans  and  the  Americans  traditions  of  the 
same  character  as  the  above.  These  agree  so  precisely 
that  they  cannot  be  a  myth,  a  mere  invention,  but  must 
of  necessity,  be  the  recollection  of  a  real,  terrible  event, 
indelibly  impressed  on  the  memories  of  their  ancestors, 
and  faithfully  handed  down.  That  it  has  never  been  for- 
gotten, nor  its  important  points  altered,  even  though  the 
dress  of  the  story  has  been  changed,  is  an  evidence  of 
the  awful  impression  which  this  judgment  of  God  left 
upon  the  nations  descending  from  the  survivors. 

The  Mexican  traditions  were  first  taken  down  as  they 
were  told  to  the  Dominican  missionaries.  Travelers  have 
compared  their  accounts  with  the  hieroglyphics  on  ancient 
Mexican  monuments  and  found  them  to  ao^ree. 

THE    MEXICAN    LEGEND. 

"Of  the  different  nations  that  inhabit  Mexico,"  says 
A.  von  Humboldt,  "the  following  had  paintings  resemb- 
ling the  deluge  of  Coxcox,  namely,  the  Aztecs,  the  Mixtecs, 
the  Zapotecs,  the  Tlascaltecs  and  the  Mechoacans.  The 
Noah,  Xisuthras,  or  Manu  of  these  nations,  is  termed 
Coxcox,  Teo  Cipactli,  or  Tezpi.  He  saved  himself  with  his 
wife,  Xochiquetzatl,  in  a  bark,  or,  according  to  other  tra- 
ditions, on  a  raft.  The  painting  represents  Coxcox  in 
the  midst  of  the  water  waiting  for  a  bark.     The  moun- 


SACRED  AND  HEATHEN  TRADITIONS. 


71 


tain,  the  summit  of  which  arises  above  the  waters,  is  the 
peak  of  Colhuacan,  the  Ararat  of  the  Mexicans.  At  the 
foot  of  the  mountain  are  the  heads  of  Coxcox  and  his 
wife.  The  latter  is  known  by  two  tresses  in  the  form  of 
horns,  denoting"  the  female  sex.  The  men  born  after  the 
deluoe  were  dumb:  the  dove  from  the  top  of  a  tree  dis- 
tributed  among  them  tongues,  represented  under  the 
form  of  small  commas."  Of  the  Mechoacan  tradition 
he  writes,  "that  Coxcox,  tvhom  they  called  Tezpi,  em- 
barked in  a  spacious  acalli  with  his  wife,  his  children, 
several  animals  and  some  grain.  When  the  Great  Spirit 
ordered  the  waters  to  withdraw,  Tezpi  sent  out  from  his 
bark  a  vulture,  the  zopilote,  or  vultur  aura.  This  bird 
did  not  return  on  account  of  the  carcasses  with  which 
the  earth  was  strewn.  Tezpi  sent  out  other  birds,  one 
of  which,  the  humming-bird,  alone  returned,  holding  in  its 
beak  a  branch  clad  with  leaves.  Tezpi,  seeing  that  fresh 
verdure  covered  the  soil,  quitted  his  bark  near  the 
mountain  of  Colhuacan." 

The  Peruvians  also  have  legends  of  the  deluge  as 
have  many  of  the  Polynesian  islanders. 

THE    FIJI    islanders'    TRADITION. 

The  Fiji  Islanders  say  that  "after  the  islands  had  been 
peopled  by  the  first  man  and  woman,  a  great  rain  took 
place,  by  which  they  were  finally  submerged ;  but  before 
the  highest  places  were  covered  by  the  waters,  two  large 
double  canoes  made  their  appearance.  In  one  of  these 
was  Rokora,  the  god  of  carpenters,  in  the  other  Rokoha, 
his  head  workman,  who  picked  up  some  of  the  people 
and  kept  them  on  board  unLil  the  v\^aters  had  subsided; 
after  which  they  were  again  landed  on  the  island.  It  is 
reported,  that  in  former  times,  canoes  were  always  kept 
in  readiness  against  another  inundation.     The  persons 


72 


E RIGOR'S   CHAINS. 


thus  saved,  eight  in  number,  were  landed  at  Mbenga, 
where  the  highest  of  their  gods  is  said  to  have  made 
his  first  appearance.  By  virtue  of  this  tradition,  the 
chiefs  of  Mbenga  take  rank  before  all  others,  and  have 
always  acted  a  conspicuous  part  among  the  Fijis.  They 
style  themselves  Ngalidura-ki-langi — subject  to  heavea 
alone." 

AMERICAN    INDIAN    TRADITIONS. 

Many  of  the  tribes  of  North  America  related  in  their 
rude  legends  that  the  human  race  had  been  destroyed  by 
a  deluge,  and  that  their  god,  to  re-people  the  earth,  had 
changed  animals  into  men.  The  traveler,  Henry,  repeats 
a  tradition  which  he  had  heard  from  the  Indians  of  the 
Lakes.  Formerly  the  Father  of  the  Indian  tribes  lived 
toward  the  rising  sun.  Having  been  warned  by  a  dream 
that  a  deluge  was  coming  to  destroy  the  earth,  he  con- 
structed a  raft,  on  which  he  saved  himself  with  his  family 
and  all  animals.  He  floated  thus  many  months  on  the 
water.  The  animals,  which  then  had  the  power  of  speech, 
complained  aloud  and  murmured  against  him.  At  last  a 
new  earth  appeared,  and  he  stepped  down  on  it  with  all 
these  creatures,  who  thenceforward  lost  the  power  of 
speech  as  a  punishment  for  their  murmurs  against  their 
preserver. 

THE    GREEK   STORY. 

Hellas  has  two  versions  of  a  flood,  one  associated 
with  Ogyges,  and  the  other,  in  a  far  more  elaborate  form, 
with  Deucalion.  Both,  however,  are  of  late  origin.  They 
were  unknown  to  Homer  and  Hesiod.  Herodotus,  though 
he  mentions  Deucalion  as  one  of  the  first  kiuQs  of  the 
Hellenes,  says  not  a  word  about  this  flood.  Pindar  is  the 
first  writer  who  mentions  it.  In  Apollodorus  and  Ovid 
tlie  story  appears  in  a  much  more  definite  shape,  though, 


SACRED  AND  HEATHEN  TRADITIONS. 


72> 


of  course,  this  is  but  a  re-writing  of  the  early  tradition. 
Finally,  Lucian  gives  a  narrative  not  very  different  from 
that  of  Ovid,  except  that  he  makes  provision  for  the 
safety  of  the  animals,  which  Ovid  does  not.  He  attri- 
butes the  necessity  for  the  Deluge  to  the  exceeding  wicked- 
ness of  the  existing  race  of  men,  and  declares  that  the  earth 
opened  and  sent  forth  waters  to  swallow  them  up,  as 
well  as  that  heavy  rain  fell  upon  them.  Deucalion,  as 
the  one  righteous  man,  escaped  with  his  wife  and  chil- 
dren and  the  animals  he  had  put  into  the  chest  and 
landed  on  the  top  of  Parnassus,  after  nine  days  and 
nine  nights,  during  which  the  chief  part  of  Hellas  was 
under  water,  and  all  men  perished  except  a  few  who 
reached  the  tops  of  the  highest  mountains.  Plutarch 
mentions  the  dove  which  Deucalion  made  use  of  to  as- 
certain whether  the  flood  was  abated,  though  he  may 
have  borrowed  this  from  the  Septuagint  version  of  the 
Old  Testament,  access  to  which  he  had  probably  enjoyed, 
and  with  which  he  was  most  likely  familiar. 

The  many  points  of  agreement  will  be  readily  noted. 
The  fact  of  a  deluge  of  waters  sent  by  the  Supreme 
Being,  as  a  punishment  for  man's  wickedness;  the  saving 
of  a  chosen  few  by  means  of  a  boat;  the  re-peopling  of 
the  earth  by  these,  all  present  points  of  likeness  to  the 
Biblical  account.  This  Is  inexplicable  unless  the  record 
is  true  and  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  were  made  of  one 
blood. 

But  these  are  not  all  of  the  remarkable  aorreements. 
Of  the  same  character  as  the  above  stories,  are  the 
traditions  of  the  history  of  the  race  after  the  flood,  of 
the  building  of  the  tower  of  Babel,  and  the  confusion  of 
tongues.  We  can  call  attention  to  but  one  of  these,  the 
Chaldean  account  concerning  the  tower  of  Babel,  which 
may  be  regarded  as  a  fair  specimen  of  the  many. 


■7 A  ERROR'S   CI/AIXS. 


CHALDEAN    STORY    OF    THE    TOWER    OF    BABEL. 

The  Story  of  the  "Tower  of  the  Tongues"  was  among 
ahe  most  ancient  recollections  of  the  Chaldeans,  and  was 
one  of  the  national  traditions  of  the  Armenians,  who 
had  received  it  from  the  civilized  nations  inhabiting  the 
Tigro-Euphrates  basin.  Berosus  records  this  event  in 
complete  agreement  with  the  Bible,  as  follows : 

"They  say  that  the  first  inhabitants  of  the  earth,  glory- 
ing in  their  own  strength  and  size  and  despising  the  gods, 
undertook  to  raise  a  tower  whose  top  should  reach  the 
sky,  in  the  place  in  which  Babylon  now  stands;  but  when 
it  approached  the  heaven,  the  wind  assisted  the  gods  and 
overthrew  the  work  upon  its  contrivers,  and  its  ruins  are 
said  to  be  still  at  Babylon;  and  the  gods  introduced  a 
diversity  of  tongues  among  men,  who  till  that  time  had 
all  spoken  the  same  language;  and  a  war  arose  be- 
tween Chronus  and  Titan.  The  place  in  which  they 
built  the  tower  is  now  called  Babylon,  on  account  of  the 
confusion  of  tongues,  for  confusion  is  by  the  Hebrews 
called  Babel." 

WHAT    HAS    THE    BIBLE    TO    SAY    ABOUT    IDOLATRY? 

There  is  another  aspect  of  the  relation  of  the  Bible  to 
the  heathen  religions,  to  which  we  should  call  attention. 
In  what  terms  does  the  Bible  speak  of  the  w^orship  of 
false  gods  and  idols?  The  Israelites  were  brought  into 
contact  with  idolatry  very  early  in  their  history.  The 
patriarchs  were  familiar  with  it,  both  as  they  journeyed 
abroad  and  among  their  neighbors  at  home.  Abraham's 
parents  were  at  least  partially  idolatrous.  Jacob,  while 
livinor  with  Laban,  was  accustomed  to  the  siMit  of  the 
teraphim  and  other  gods.  Joseph  had  for  his  wife  the 
daughter  of  a  heathen  Egyptian  priest.     Jacob  and  his 


SACRED  AND  HEATHEN  TRADITIONS. 


75 


children,  during  their  Hfe  In  Egypt,  were  surrounded  by 
temples,  Idol  groves,  sacred  beasts  and  all  the  parapher- 
nalia of  heathen  worship.  Moses  was  brought  up  in  all 
the  learning  of  the  Egyptians.  Undoubtedly,  as  was 
customary  in  Egypt,  he  had  for  his  teachers  Egyptian 
priests.  When  Israel  made  its  exodus  from  Egypt,  tho 
miraculous  power  which  God  gave  to  Moses  was  brought 
into  contact  with  the  power  of  the  sorcerers  and  magi- 
cians of  Pharaoh's  court.  After  they  had  left  Egypt 
they  remembered  the  idol-worship  they  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  see.  The  first  Idol  ever  made  and  worshiped 
by  the  Hebrews,  was  the  golden  calf.  Side  by  side  with 
this  incident,  is  the  first  plain  command  against  idolatry: 
"Thou  shalt  have  no  other  gods  before  me.  Thou  shalt 
not  make  unto  thee  any  graven  image,  or  any  likeness  of 
anything  that  is  In  the  heaven  above,  or  that  is  in  the 
earth  beneath,  or  that  is  in  the  waters  under  the  earth: 
thou  shalt  not  bow  down  thyself  to  them,  nor  serve  them." 
While  God  was  giving  this  stern,  strong,  plain  command 
to  Moses,  for  him  to  repeat  to  the  chosen  people  of  Israel, 
they  were  engaged  In  their  idolatrous  worship.  In  the  com- 
mand to  Israel,  we  see  how  God  regards  the  worship  of 
Idols.  For  awhile  Israel  regarded  God's  command.  On 
tlieir  way  to  Canaan  they  yielded  to  the  charms  of  tlie 
daughters  of  Moab,  and  with  most  terribly  wicked  wor- 
ship they  bowed  to  the  heathen  god  Baal-Peor.  For 
this  they  were  severely  punished.  During  the  life  of 
Joshua  they  did  not  again  yield  to  the  temptations  of 
idolatry.  Gideon*s  father,  Joash,  worshiped  Baal.  After 
Gideon's  death,  idolatry  became  the  national  sin  of  Israel. 
From  Samuel's  time  until  the  reign  of  Solomon,  the 
people  were  loyal  to  Jehovah's  worship.  Solomon's 
foreign  wives  brought  with  them  the  gods  which  they 
were  accustomed  to  worship,  and  soon  all  Israel  was 


76 


ERROR'S   CHAIXS. 


turned  to  worship  ihem.  From  this  time  until  after  the 
captivity  at  Babylon,  idolatry  was  the  constant  sin  of 
Israel.  Often  God  sent  his  messengers,  the  prophets,  to 
warn  them  of  the  danger  of  their  sin.  Often  His  judg- 
ments were  shown  in  the  terrible  calamities  which  came 
upon  Israel.  But  it  took  the  most  awful  of  all  calamities, 
the  temporary  ruin  of  the  nation,  to  work  a  complete  cure. 
God  chose  Israel  as  the  people  to  preserve  for  the  world 
the  pure  worship  of  Himself,  the  one  and  the  only  God. 
How  they  failed  to  fulfill  their  high  calling  we  have  seen. 
God  was  preparing  In  Israel  the  true  religion  which 
was  desig-ned  to  be  universal.  In  Abraham's  seed  all  the 
families  of  the  earth  were  to  be  blessed.  The  Jews  were 
made  the  keepers  of  the  treasure  of  the  promises  of  the 
Saviour.  God  selected  them  from  all  the  nations  for  this 
express  purpose ;  He  gave  them  a  territory'  shut  off  from 
that  of  other  nations  ;  In  their  language,  habits,  ways  of 
thinking  and  religion,  they  were  distinct  from  all  others. 
They  were  to  be  kept  separate  until  the  time  when  God 
should  give  the  true  religion  to  the  whole  world. 


THE  SUBJECT  IN  A  NUTSHELL.  'j'j 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE   SUBJECT   IN    A   NUTSHELL. 

Not  in  vain  the  nation-strivings,  nor  by  chance  the  currents  flow ; 
Error-mazed,  yet  truth-directed,  to  their  certain  goal  they  go. 

Ebn-el-Farid. 

Oh,  yet  we  trust  that  somehow  good 

Will  be  the  final  goal  of  ill. 

To  pangs  of  nature,  sins  of  will, 
Defects  of  doubt,  and  taints  of  blood ; 

That  nothing  walks  with  aimless  feet ; 

That  not  one  life  shall  be  destroyed, 

Or  cast  as  rubbish  to  the  void, 
When  God  hath  made  the  pile  complete. 

Alfred  Tennyson. 

IN  this  chapter  it  is  proposed  to  survey  rapidly  the 
progress  of  the  whole  heathen  world  in  idolatrous 
worship  from  its  first  introduction.  We  have  already 
seen  how  the  world  began  with  the  worship  of  one  God, 
but  passed  into  the  worship  of  the  objects,  powers  and 
forces  of  nature ;  and  how  to  these  were  given  tangible 
forms  in  the  shape  of  idols.  Further  we  have  noticed 
the  gradual  introduction  of  the  worship  of  animals,  and 
men,  and  their  idols. 

METHODS   OF    GROUPING    RELIGIONS. 

The  various  religions  might  be  classified  by  dividing 
them  into  two  groups ;  first,  those  having  sacred  books, 
and  secondly,  those  having  no  sacred  books.  According 
to  this  method,  for  example,  the  Hindu,  Parsee,  Egyp- 


78 


EJiJiOH'S   CHAINS. 


tian,  Chinese,  Buddhist  and  Mohammedan  rehgions 
would  be  placed  in  one  group,  and  the  religions  of  the 
Japanese  Shintoists,  of  the  Indians  of  America,  of  the 
Pacific  Islanders,  of  the  African  Fetichists  and  of  our 
heathen  ancestors,  in  another  group.  This  is  rather  an 
arbitrary  division. 

Another  mode  of  arranging  them  is  as  missionary 
or  proselyte-making  religions  and  non-missionary  re- 
ligions. Thus,  Brahminism,  as  it  never  went  beyond  In- 
dia, and  Confucianism,  as  it  never  sent  its  teachers  out  of 
China,  would  be  in  one  class,  while  Buddhism  which  was 
spread  all  over  Eastern  Asia  by  its  missionary  priests, 
and  Mohammedanism  whose  priests  went  over  Western 
Asia  and  Northern  Africa  making  proselytes,  would  be  in 
another  class. 

We  must  have  some  system  of  classifying  and  arrang- 
ing' the  different  relio^ions,  and  the  followinof  has  seemed 
to  be  the  most  simple  and  natural  classification.  To  look 
at  them  first,  as  original  religions  and  as  reformed  re- 
ligions, and  secondly,  as  dead  and  as  liinng  religions.  It 
happens  that  most  of  the  dead  religions  were  original 
religions,  and  so  we  take  these  up  first.  Then  we  notice 
the  living  original  religions,  and  afterv/ard  the  reformed 
religions,  which  are  nearly  all  living.  The  religions 
which  will  be  described  in  the  following  pages,  from 
Chapters  V.  to  X.,  are  dead  original  religions ;  those  in 
Chapters  XI.  to  XIX.  are  living  original  religions ;  and 
those  in  Chapters  XX.  to  XXXVI.,  are  living  reformed 
religions.  It  is  proper  that  these  terms,  as  they  are  in- 
tended to  be  used  here  should  be  quite  clearly  defined. 

DEAD    RELIGIONS    AND    LIVING    RELIGIONS. 

Many  religions  still  exist,  but  some  are  extinct.     We 
speak  of  languages  as  dead  or  living ;  the  ancient  Greek 


THE  SUBJECT  IN  A  NUTSHELL.  jq 

and  the  Latin,  which  are  no  longer  spoken,  are  called 
dead.  The  French,  German  or  English,  which  are  in 
common  use  to-day,  are  called  living.  Though  these 
dead  languages  are  no  longer  spoken,  words  and  phrases 
which  are  derived  from  them  still  survive  in  the  living 
languages.  Indeed  some  of  the  living  languages  are 
built  up  out  of  these  dead  languages.  Just  so  in  religions, 
there  are  worships  which  have  no  followers  to-day;  there 
are  ruins  of  their  temples  and  idols,  and  portions  of  their 
sacred  books  remaining  to  us.  The  accounts  which 
ancient  historians  have  preserved  for  us  of  their  worships, 
the  ruins  of  their  temples,  their  majestic  monuments  and 
inscriptions,  and  their  sacred  books  which  have  of  late 
years  been  translated  into  our  language,  enable  us  to 
learn  very  minutely  of  many  of  these  worships.  Of  the 
living  religions,  we  have  but  to  study  the  narratives  of 
travelers  and  of  those  scholars  who  have  taken  special 
pains  to  study  and  explain  the  sacred  books,  rites,  le- 
gends and  customs  of  the  people  following  these  faiths. 

ORIGINAL  RELIGIONS  AND  REFORMED  RELIGIONS. 

By  original  religions  we  mean  to  denote  those  which 
are,  or  were,  the  religions  of  the  earliest  inhabitants  of 
the  various  countries,  and  which  are  but  little  chaneed  in 
the  course  of  time.  By  reformed  religions  we  mean  such 
as  at  some  later  day  have  branched  off  from  the  earlier 
religions.  These  reforms  are  always  begun  by  some 
great  man,  who,  seeing  or  imagining  error  in  the  old 
system,  undertakes  to  correct  it,  and  before  he  is  hardly 
aware  of  it,  establishes  a  new  faith.  Thus  Zoroaster  re- 
belled against  the  impure  worship  of  the  corrupt  religion 
of  his  country  and  founded  Parseeism ;  thus  Confucius 
gathered  together  some  of  the  traditions  and  sayings  of 
the  ancient  Chinese  writers  added  to  them  a  oreat  many 


go  ERROR'S   CHAINS. 

teachings  of  his  own  and  founded  Confucianism ;  thus 
Gautama,  the  Buddha,  convinced  of  the  inability  of  the 
ancient  Hindu  faith  to  help  the  world's  sorrow  or  to  heal 
its  wounds,  founded  Buddhism ;  and  thus  Mohammed 
felt  himself  called  of  God  to  wage  a  war  against  idolatry, 
and  so  he  founded  the  Moslem  faith. 

Further,  we  shall  take  up  these  religions  in  each  class  as 
far  as  possible,  in  the  order  of  time,  taking  the  oldest 
first  and  the  youngest  last. 

DEAD    RELIGIONS. 

The  gods  of  the  Egyptians,  Assyrians,  Jews,  Greeks,  Ro- 
mans and  Britons  (including  all  other  peoples  of  Western 
Europe),  are  no  longer  worshiped.  They  sank  into  ne- 
glect from  various  causes.  Some  fell  by  a  natural  decay ; 
there  was  not  enough  in  them  to  enable  them  to  retain 
their  hold  upon  their  worshipers  as  foreign  religions  were 
introduced.  Some  of  the  peoples  holding  these  faiths 
lost  their  distinctively  national  existence  and  their  faith 
faded  out  alonor  with  their  national  life.  Stronger  races 
of  strange  peoples  swept  over  their  lands,  driving  them 
out  or  subduing  them.  The  conqueror's  customs  and 
religious  worship  then  took  the  place  of  those  of  the  con- 
quered people. 

Another  cause  of  the  death  of  certain  religions,  and  a 
more  frequent  cause,  has  been  the  coming  in  of  a  better 
system.  In  this  way  the  Egyptian  religion  gave  place  to 
the  Christian,  and  that  in  turn  (in  Egypt)  to  the  Moham- 
medan. The  false  gods  of  the  Greeks,  Romans,  Britons 
and  other  nations  were  forgotten  in  the  coming  of  the 
religion  of  Jesus  Christ.  Mrs.  Browning's  beautiful 
poem,  "The  Dead  Pan,"  is  based  on  a  tradition  mentioned 
by  Plutarch,  according  to  which,  at  the  hour  of  the 
Saviour's  agony  a  cry  of  "Great  Pan  is  dead!"  swept 


THE  SUBJECT  IN  A  NUTSHELL.  3  j 

across  the  waves  in  the  hearing  of  some  sailors,  and  im- 
mediately the  oracles  ceased.     She  writes: 

"Gods  of  Hellas,  Gods  of  Hellas, 
Can  ye  listen  in  your  silence  ? 
Can  your  mystic  voices  tell  us 

Where  ye  hide  ?     In  floating  islands, 
With  a  wind  that  evermore 
Keeps  you  out  of  sight  of  shore  ? 

Pan,  Pan  is  dead. 

"And  that  dismal  cry  rose  slowly 
And  sank  slowly  through  the  air, 
Full  of  spirit's  melancholy 
And  eternity's  despair !. 
And  they  heard  the  words  it  said — 
Pan  is  dead — Great  Pan  is  dead — 
Pan,  Pan  is  dead. 

**'Twas  the  hour  when  One  in  Sion 
Hung  for  love's  sake  on  a  cross ; 
When  His  brow  was  chill  with  dying. 

And  His  soul  was  faint  with  loss  ; 
When  His  priestly  blood  dropped  downward, 
And  His  kingly  eyes  looked  throneward — 
Then,  Pan  was  dead. 

"By  the  love  He  stood  alone  in, 
His  sole  Godhead  rose  complete. 
And  the  false  gods  fell  down  moaning, 

Each  from  off  his  golden  seat ; 
All  the  false  gods  with  a  cry 
Rendered  up  their  deity — 

Pan,  Pan  was  dead." 

The  Greek  and  Roman  faith  and  the  worships  of  West- 
ern Europe  have  all  yielded  to  the  advancing  Christian 
army.  The  process  of  tearing  down  and  building  up  is  still 
going  on.  Parseeism  and  the  American  Indians'  religion 
are  dying,  because  the  people  who  belong  to  these  nations 
are  dying  out.   Mohammedanism  is  making  great  inroads 


82  ERROR'S   CHAINS. 

on  the  Fetich-worship  of  Africa.  Buddhism  is  lessening 
the  respect  for  Confucius  and  Lao-Tsze  in  China,  and  is 
gaining  ground  on  Shintoism  in  Japan.  Christianity  is,  in 
almost  every  land,  lessening  the  hold  of  heathen  religions 
upon  their  followers  and  is  slowly  leavening  the  whole 
world,  as  the  facts  and  figures  prove.  Before  the  bright 
light  of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  the  dark  night  of  error 
and  superstition  is  fleeing  away. 

LIVING    WORSHIPS. 

The  first  group,  that  of  original  faiths,  will  include  the 
religions  of  Hinduisrn,  Shintoism,  of  Africa,  America, 
Oceanica,  and  of  the  Karens  of  Burmah.  The  next 
group,  that  of  the  living  reformed  religions,  will  include 
Parseeism,  Taoism,  Confucianism,  Buddhism  and  Mo- 
hammedanism. This  last  is  not,  strictly  speaking,  a  sys- 
tem of  idolatry,  and  therefore  we  do  not  give  it  an  ex- 
tended notice ;  yet,  as  it  exists  as  a  fierce  opponent  of 
idolatry,  and  properly  has  a  part  in  the  history  of  idola- 
try, we  cannot  pass  it  by  altogether,  but  shall  give  it  such 
attention  as  is  consistent. 

The  signs  of  these  times,  as  well  as  the  signs  of  the 
gone-by  ages,  shows  that  the  world  is  moving  back  to  its 
first  worship  of  one  God.  As  an  opponent  of  idolatry 
and  as  a  great  missionary  system,  Christianity  is  likely  to 
do  this  great  work  of  bringing  the  world  back  to  its  first 
faith.  So  we  propose,  briefly,  after  showing  the  contrasts 
between  the  Christian  religion  and  the  idolatrous  wor- 
ships,  to  refer  to  the  present  attitude  of  the  Christian 
system  in  its  work  among  existing  heathen  nations.  This 
will  involve  a  view  of  the  great  battle-field  of  the  world, 
and  of  the  forces  fighting  for  and  against  the  true  worship 
of  the  one  God.  To  this  true  w^orship  the  world  is  slowly 
but  surely  tending. 


THE  SUBJECT  IN  A  NUTSHELL.  g^ 

THE    PROPOSED    TREATMENT. 

Heathen  religions  have  often  been  described  as  they 
are  found  in  their  sacred  books  or  in  the  teachings  of 
their  founders.  This  is  not  as  it  should  be.  They  should 
be  studied  from  these  sources,  but  not  from  these  only. 
These  show  the  religions,  not  as  they  are,  but  as  they 
were  intended  to  be.  The  test  of  time  which  has  been 
applied  to  them,  their  after-growth  and  their  effect  upon 
their  followers  should  be  carefully  studied.  It  not  seldom 
happens  that  the  religion  as  its  founder  taught  it,  and  the 
religion  of  later  days  which  was  built  up  on  his  teach- 
ings are  very  different.  Take  Buddhism  for  an  example. 
How  widely  different  is  the  Buddhism  of  Burmah  from 
that  established  by  Gautama !  What  vast  changes  has 
the  system  undergone  during  the  centuries  that  have 
passed  since  Gautama's  death  !  Or  take  Mohammedan- 
ism, which  was,  as  Mohammed  taught,  a  crusade  against 
the  idolatrous  reverence  for  relics,  images,  sacred  places 
and  sacred  things  generally.  To-day,  in  one  of  the  most 
famous  of  Mohammedan  mosques — that  at  Delhi,  India — 
a  hair  f^oin  Mohammed' s  beard,  a  part  of  his  garm,e7its 
and  his  sandals,  are  exhibited  to  the  devout  worshipers  in 
the  mosque.  The  Brahminism  of  the  Vedas,  the  sacred 
Hindu  books,  differs  greatly  from  the  Hindu  worship  of 
to-day  with  its  myriads  of  idols  and  its  great  system  of 
caste.  The  same  religion  often  differs  in  different  lands. 
The  Buddhism  of  Ceylon  and  the  Buddhism  of  Burmah 
and  Siam  are  different,  and  they  together  (often  called 
by  way  of  distinction.  Southern  Buddhism),  differ  very 
greatly  from  the  Buddhism  of  China  and  Japan  (called 
Northern  Buddhism).  The  same  religion  has  a  still  dif 
ferent  form  in  Thibet. 

It  is  a  part  of  our  plan  to  look  into  these  religions 


g^  EI^ROK'S   CHAINS. 

as  they  existed  in  their  beginnings  and  in  their  growths, 
and  so  to  present  a  complete  picture.  The  Hfe  of  a 
religion  is  not  to  be  found  in  its  sacred  books  only, 
but  in  the  life,  worship  and  habits  of  thought  of  its 
followers.  From  the  idols,  temples,  worship,  festivals 
and  religious  customs  of  the  every-day  life  of  the  house- 
hold or  business  circles,  we  can  gain  a  yet  more  per- 
fect picture.  The  traditions,  legends  and  superstitious 
practices  of  the  people  generally  contain  those  facts 
which  are  most  widely  accepted.  The  folk-lore,  fireside 
stories,  children's  tales,  the  myths  and  songs  of  any 
people  contain  the  principal  ideas  of  their  religion. 
Thus  we  propose  to  try  to  present  as  perfect  a  picture 
as  possible  of  the  various  heathen  religions  of  the  past 
and  present,  and  we  trust  the  effort  may  succeed. 

A    CONCISE    VIEW. 

Let  us  take  a  glimpse  of  the  roads  over  which  we  shall 
now  travel.  Heretofore  we  have  followed  but  one  wide 
road.  From  this  other  roads  begin  to  branch  off,  and 
by-roads  in  turn  occasionally.  It  will  not  be  difficult  to  / 
follow  these  paths,  however,  if  at  the  outset  we  place 
ourselves  where  we  can  take  a  bird's-eye  view  of  the 
whole  and  pursue  our  way  steadily  to  the  end. 

PARSEEISM. 

For  some  time  after  the  confusion  of  tongues  the  na- 
tions remained  in  the  vicinity  of  the  tower  of  Babel. 
Then  they  began  to  disperse,  all  but  one  nation.  This 
one  journeyed  only  a  short  distance  to  the  south  and 
founded  the  empires  of  Assyria  and  Babylon,  the  Persia 
of  later  days.  Here  we  find  traces  of  that  idolatrous 
worship  which  soon  passed  into  Parseeism.  Zoroaster  was 
the  man  who  was  instrumental  in  reforming  the  ancient 


THE  SUBJECT  IN  A  NUTSHELL. 


85 


Assyrian  religion.  Zoroaster  retained  the  worship  of  the 
sun  and  of  fire,  and  taught  that  there  were  two  gods,  a 
good  god  and  an  evil  god,  Ormuzd  and  Ahriman.  There 
are  only  a  few  Parsees  left  to-day  and  the  old  Assyrian 
religion  is  entirely  extinguished. 

AFRICAN    RELIGION. 

The  nations  who  passed  south-west  across  Northern 
Arabia  and  Sinai,  finally  came  to  Africa.  In  Egypt  we 
find  relics  of  a  very  high  civilization,  and  they  seem  to 
indicate  that  one  of  the  greatest  of  the  nations  of  the 
earth  settled  there.  Their  worship  was  of  the  sun,  moon 
and  stars  and  of  animals.  The  River  Nile,  upon  which 
their  very  life  depended,  was  soon  received  as  an  object 
of  worship.  Some  part  of  those  who  came  to  Egypt 
wandered  up  the  Nile  and  passed  south  and  west  to 
Central  Africa.  Here  they  were  brought  in  contact  with 
nature  in  its  wildest  forms.  There  was  little  need  of 
tilHng  the  soil  for  crops,  as  nature  produced  of  herself 
so  abundantly  in  this  tropical  climate.  The  heated  at- 
mosphere did  away  with  the  necessity  either  of  substan- 
tial dwellings  or  of  more  than  a  little  clothing.  Hence 
the  nations  had  little  to  do,  and  as  the  old  proverb  says, 
"  Satan  finds  mischief  for  idle  hands  to  do,"  he  soon, 
evidently,  set  these  nations  to  occupy  their  time  in  quar- 
reling among  themselves.  Thus  the  most  brutal  habits 
were  brought  about  and  the  traces  of  their  original 
nobility  and  civilization  were  rapidly  destroyed.  Theirs 
was  a  quick  degeneration.  Together  with  their  civiliza- 
tion their  religion  decayed,  until  they  were  left  with  a  re- 
ligion hardly  worth  the  name,  and  were  little  above  the 
apes  and  gorillas  inhabiting  the  wild  woods  about  them. 
But  they  could  never  become  wholly  animalized,  they 
always  retain  sc^me  traces  of  their  religious  faith. 


86 


ERIWR'S    CHAINS. 


WESTERN    EUROPE. 


The  nations  who  passed  north-west  entered  Germany 
and  soon  scattered  over  Norway  and  Sweden  and  France, 
and  finally  across  the  channel  to  the  British  Isles.  Among 
these  peoples,  the  Teutons,  Celts,  Scandinavians  and 
Gauls,  the  early  nature-worship  was  long  preserved. 
Indeed  traces  of  it  are  found  even  at  the  time  of  the  birth 
of  Christ.  The  coldness  of  their  climate,  the  severity  of 
the  storms  gradually  developed  them  into  a  hardy  race 
and  finally  led  them  to  introduce  changes  into  their 
religious  faith  corresponding  to  their  surroundings. 
Their  myths,  legends  and  songs,  as  well  as  their  more 
directly  religious  worship,  partook  largely  of  the  heroic 
element,  Christianity  early  overspread  these  lands  and 
the  early  religions  died  out  as  Christianity  grew. 

THE    SOUTHERN    MIGRATION. 

One  of  the  strono-est  of  existinof  religions  is  found  in 
the  Brahminism  of  India.  This  is  the  religion  of  the 
people  who  moved  south-east  till  they  came  to  the  Indus 
River.  They  settled  along  its  banks  until  they  were  well- 
established  in  their  habits  of  life  and  religious  faith,  and 
then  some  of  them  wandered  away  to  the  East,  till  they 
came  to  the  River  Ganges,  and  settled  in  its  valley.  Others 
wandered  south,  and  soon  the  whole  of  India  was  occu- 
pied. These  people  kept  up  communications  with  one 
another  and  preserved  one  language,  though  this  was 
modified  in  different  parts  of  the  country.  Their  religion 
retained  most  of  its  features  in  common  amoncr  them  all. 
Early  in  their  history  other  Vedas,  or  sacred  books,  were 
written  in  addition  to  the  Rig- Veda  or  book  of  hymns  to 
the  gods.  Other  sacred  books  were  added  to  these, 
called  Brahmanas  and  the  laws  of  Manu.     Their  gods 


THE  SUBJECT  IX  A  NUTSHELL.  g- 

were  multiplied,  temples  and  shrines  were  built.  The 
larger  rivers  were  believed  to  be  holy/and  were,  together 
with  the  crocodiles  dwelling  in  them,  worshiped. 

From  India  people  wandered  overland  or  across  the 
Indian  Ocean  to  Burmah  and  Siam,  and  thence  to  the 
Malay  Archipelago,  and  from  there  to  the  Pacific  Isles 
and  America.  These  migrations  (or  wanderings)  oc- 
curred before  the  Hindu  religion  was  developed.  The 
peoples  who  thus  strayed  away,  carried  with  them  the  early 
worship  of  nature.  We  find  this  still  among  many  of  the 
savage  tribes  of  North  and  South  America  and  of  the 
Pacific  Isles.  These  tribes  gradually  became  savage  in 
the  same  way  as  the  African  tribes.  They  possess  tradi- 
tions of  an  early  civilization. 

BUDDHISM. 

In  India  in  the  fifth  century  before  Christ,  the  Hindu 
religion  had  become  a  very  poor  religion  indeed.  It  was 
at  that  time  a  mere  system  of  priestcraft.  The  nation 
groaned  under  the  burdens  which  the  priests  placed  upon 
them.  Then  a  man  was  raised  up  to  reform  this  religion. 
Sakya-Muni  was  born  in  the  middle  of  the  century  ;  after 
attempting  to  find  in  the  Hindu  religion  that  help  which 
the  people  needed,  he  cast  it  all  aside  and  struck  out  for 
himself  a  new  line  of  reasoning.  He  called  himself  the  Bud- 
dha, that  is,  the  "  Enlio^htened  One."  Soon  his  teachines 
were  accepted  in  all  India,  going  as  far  as  Ceylon  even. 
But  in  India  the  priests  soon  triumphed  over  the  new 
faith  and  Buddhism  was  expelled  and  Brahminism  re- 
established. Excepting  the  Jains,  a  Buddhist  sect  In 
Western  India,  there  are  now  no  Buddhists  in  India 
proper.  In  Ceylon  it  still  remains.  Buddha  taught  his 
disciples  to  preach  his  teachings  everywhere.  So  they 
went  to  Burmah  (from  Ceylon)  not  long  after  Buddha's 


gg  ERROR'S   CHAINS. 

death.  From  there  it  spread  East  to  Siam,  and  North- 
east up  the  Irrawady  River  along  the  route  that  the 
Chinese  traders  were  accustomed  to  pass  over.  From 
China  it  entered  Japan,  The  Tripitakas,  or  "Three 
Baskets,"  as  they  are  designated,  are  the  sacred  books  of 
the  Buddhists. 

china's  religions. 

The  Chinese  legends  say  that  Noah  was  their  first  em- 
peror. Whether  this  be  true  or  not,  we  know  that 
China,  like  Egypt,  was  early  settled  and  possessed  a  high 
civilization.  The  nations  moved  from  Persia  in  the 
West  until  they  came  to  the  great  Hoang  Ho  River; 
along  its  banks,  and  to  the  north  and  south  of  it,  they 
settled.  Of  their  early  religion  we  know  but  little.  The 
great  sage  Confucius  (or  Kong  the  teacher),  was  born 
somewhere  about  551  before  Christ.  He  was  a  states- 
man reformer.  le  was  not  a  priest,  nor  even  noted  for 
piety.  But  he  gathered  together  the  sayings  of  the  an- 
cients, and  weaving  in  with  them  his  own  wisdom,  he 
produced  the  system  now  known  as  Confucianism.  The 
books  containing  his  teachings,  and  those  of  his  immedi- 
ate disciples,  are  called  the  King. 

A  little  before  Confucius,  lived  Lao-Tsze,  a  philosopher 
and  astrologer,  who  did  something  toward  re-establish- 
ing the  old  religion,  and  who  also  added  new  teachings. 
His  weird  system  is  called  Taoism,  and  its  sacred  books 
are  the  Tao-Te-King,  Buddhism  in  China  has  taken  in 
with  Buddha's  teachings  the  doctrines  and  gods  of  Con- 
fucius and  Lao-Tsze. 

SHINTOISM    IN    JAPAN. 

The  early  inhabitants  of  Japan  are  supposed  to  be  the 
Ainos  a  race  now  almost  extinguished.     The  few  that 


THE  SUBJECT  IN  A  NUTSHELL.  gg 

are  left  live  in  Yezo,  the  northernmost  island  of  Japan. 
Many  sailors  from  the  islands  of  the  Malayan  Archipel- 
ago were  washed  upon  the  shores  of  Japan  and  soon 
mixed  in  with  the  Ainos.  They  gradually  became 
stronger  and  stronger  and,  finally,  the  children  of  the 
mixed  races  conquered  the  entire  land.  The  Japanese 
retained  their  early  nature-worship,  which  is  called  Shinto, 
or  Kami-no-michi,  the  "way  of  the  gods,"  until  Bud- 
dhism came  in  to  disturb  its  hold  upon  the  people's 
hearts.     Buddhism  entered  Japan  in  552  after  Christ. 

MOHAMMEDANISM. 

About  five  hundred  years  after  Christianity  was  estab- 
lished, it  had  degenerated  in  most  parts  of  Arabia  and 
Syria  into  a  system  for  the  worship  of  saints  and  relics. 
The  people  of  Arabia  were  given  from  the  earliest  times 
to  idolatry.  Mohammed  was  born  570  A.  D.  He  built 
upon  the  ruins  of  Judaism,  Christianity  and  the  Arabian 
idolatrous  worship,  the  system  called  Mohammedanism. 
His  motto  was  (and  it  contains  the  sum  and  substance 
of  his  teachings)  "There  is  no  God  but  God,  and  Mo- 
hammed is  his  prophet."  He  began  a  vigorous  crusade 
against  idols  and  relic-worship.  At  first  he  sought  to 
extend  his  system  by  teaching  only,  afterwards  he  used 
the  sword.  From  Arabia  his  religion  spread  to  Turkey, 
to  India,  to  Egypt  and  Africa,  and  even  to  China. 

Christianity's  conquests. 

Christianity  is  the  religion  for  the  world.  It  is  in- 
finitely superior  to  all  religions  of  either  past  or  present. 
It  was  intended  to  be  the  world-religion.  Its  founder, 
Jesus  Christ,  designed  that  it  should  be  spread  over  the 
whole  world,  and  gave  His  disciples  their  marching- 
orders  before  He  left  them  at  His  ascension.    They  were 


QQ  ERJ^OIi'S   CHAINS. 

bidden  to  go  into  all  the  world  and  preach  His  gospel 
to  every  creature.  They  were  assured  of  His  assistance 
and  of  final  success.  Without  any  of  the  power  of 
pomp  or  wealth,  or  wisdom,  or  numbers,  the  little  band 
undertook  to  obey  their  orders.  They  have  spread  from 
land  to  land,  until  their  camp-fires  have  been  kindled 
almost  all  around  the  globe.  Their  triumphs  have  been 
gained  by  the  powers  of  persuasion.  Their  past  history 
is  grand,  their  present  outlook  glorious,  and  their  future 
prospects  full  of  assurance. 

Now  let  us  take  up  more  in  detail  these  various  sys- 
tems. Retracinof  the  roads  we  have  hurried  over  let  us 
start  afresh  and  proceed  more  leisurely  to  study  the  re- 
ligious life  of  mankind,  and  especially  as  it  is  associated 
with  false  gods  and  idols. 


BIIDDIIST& 


500,000,000. 


Including  the  Chinese, 
who  are  also  Confucianists 
and  Taoists,  as  well  as 
Buddhists. 


Found  in  India,  Ceylon, 
Burmah,  Siam,  Thibet,. Chi- 
na, and  Japan. 

ffiOHAllOlDAia 

155,000,000. 
Found   in   Arabia,   Tur- 
key,  Egypt,   India,   China, 
and  Persia. 


CHEISTIMa 

327,000,000. 

Of  which 

Roman  Catholics  have 
152,000,000; 

Greek  Church, 
75,000,000; 

Other  Christians, 
100,000,000. 


Found  all  over  the  world. 


HHTDOOS. 


1 60,000,000. 


Found  only  in  India. 


JEWS,  7,000,000. 


ShiDtoists,  Paraees,  etc.,  3,000,000. 

FetlGliists,  or  Deyfl  f  orsMiiers. 
1 00,000,000. 

These  include  the  Amer- 
ican Indians,  African  races, 
and  Pacific  Islanders. 


Comparative  Exhibit  of  the  Number  of  Follo^vers  of  the 
Leading  Sy.stems  of  Religious  Faith. 


THE  LAND    OF  THE  SPHINX. 


93 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE    LAND    OF   THE    SPHINX. 

I  have  come  to  Egypt  to  learn  something  of  the  wisdom  of  the 
Egyptians.  Tell  me,  then,  ye  tombs,  and  temples,  and  pyramids, 
about  God ;  tell  me  about  the  life  to  come !  But  the  pyramids  speak 
not;  and  the  Sphinx  still  looks  toward  the  East,  to  watch  for  the  rising 
sun,  but  is  voiceless  and  mute.  This  valley  of  the  Nile  speaks  of 
nothing  but  death.  From  end  to  end  its  rock-ribbed  hills  are  filled 
with  tombs.  Yet  what  do  they  all  teach  the  anxious  and  troubled 
heart  of  man?     Nothing!     All  these  hills  are  silent. — H.  M.  Field. 


H 


ERODOTUS,  the  Greek  historian,  who  visited 
Egypt  about  450  B.  C,  was  struck  with  the  ex- 
treme attention  which  the  Egyptians  paid  to 
religion.  He  says  that  they  were  the  most  rehglous  of  all 
mankind.  The  passing 
stranger  was  Impress- 
ed with  the  pompous 
ceremonies,  the  magni- 
ficent festivals,  the  im- 
posing processions  and 
the  many  gorgeous- 
ly-robed priests.  He 
found  large  temples, 
where  the  walls  were 
covered  with  sculp- 
tures, paintings  and 
hieroglyphic  writings. 
All  Egypt  was  stamp- 
ed with  the  Impress  of 
religion.     Every  art  and  science,  and  all  literature  v;ere 


RUINED  TEMPLES. 


Q^  ERROR'S  CHAINS. 

distinctly  connected  with  religion,  and  were  used  in  the 
service  of  their  deities.  They  surpassed  all  nations  in  the 
reverence  they  paid  to  the  gods.  Their  religion  was  by 
no  means  an  open  one.  Like  most  of  the  false  religions 
of  antiquity,  there  was  a  great  deal  of  mystery  about  it. 
Even  to-day  we  find  among  the  monuments  traces  of  the 
great  attention  which  the  ancient  Egyptians  paid  to  the 
service  and  adoration  of  their  gods. 

HIDDEN    HISTORY. 

Formerly  the  world  was  accustomed  to  speak  of  Egypt 
as  the  "land  of  ruins;"  a  better  title  is  now  given,  the 
"land  of  monuments."  The  reason  of  the  change  in  the 
title  is  that  it  has  been  found  that  its  ruins  contain  the 
account  of  the  past  history  of  Egypt.  Hundreds  of  years 
aofo  travelers  came  across  these  grreat  ruins  covered  over 
with  sculptures  and  paintings,  they  found  traces  of  the 
existence  of  gigantic  structures,  they  found,  in  almost 
perfect  preservation,  great  structures  like  the  pyramids 
and  the  sphinx.  Here  evidently  was  a  treasure-house  of 
information,  but  where  was  the  key  to  unlock  it?  It  was 
like  a  great  pawnbroker's  shop,  full  of  rubbish,  but  also 
with  many  articles  of  value  locked  up  within  its  walls,  but 
with  no  key  to  unlock  its  doors.  It  was  a  land  of 
enigmas,  of  puzzling  problems,  of  riddles.  The  traveler 
turned  from  object  to  object  with  the  tone  of  interroga- 
tion. Why  was  this,  and  this  ?  What  was  its  purpose  ? 
How  came  it  here  ?  What  does  It  all  mean  ?  Evidently 
these  great  buildings  were  not  erected,  these  mysterious 
sculptures  carved,  these  puzzling  paintings  drawn,  merely 
to  amuse  a  passing  fancy.  There  must  be  some  meaning 
in  them.  Scholar  after  scholar  pored  over  it,  beat  their 
brains  about  It,  and  gave  It  up.  Century  after  century 
passed  away  and  still  the  mystery  remained.     There  was 


THE  LAND   OF  THE  SPHINX. 


95 


ROCK  TEMPLE  OF  IDSAMBUL,  RESTORED. 


one  key  which  was  found,  but  to  use  this  key  another  key 
was  needed.    T'"""'  writing  of  the  Eg-yntians  yet  remained. 

6 


96 


EA'A'OA'-S    CHAINS. 


Undoubtedly,  in  their  sacred  books,  and  in  the  inscrip- 
tions on  the  monuments  or  walls  of  the  temples  were 
descriptions  of  the  purpose  of  the  great  buildings,  full 
accounts  of  the  past  and  their  lost  history  of  Egypt,  and 
perhaps  accounts  of  arts  and  science  now  lost  to  the 
world.  A  rich  reward  this,  to  the  scholar  who  should 
succeed  in  unraveling  the  mystery. 

THE     HIEROGLYPHICS. 

But  what  was  the  character  of  this  writing  that  it  should 
be  so  difficult  to  interpret?     The  writing  was  a  picture- 
writing,  with  characters  or  syllables  added,  more  puzzling- 
*7  than  the  most  puzzling  rebus 

©    **1^   *^   f^\  that    ever   appeared.     The 

/y    yvwNV.    ^.ww^  fVl  r-1  ur  'VJ 

III     I  s  I  LVi    A.         Greeks,   who    often   visited 

^  j  AMAp^^        Egypt,  gave  the  name  Hie- 

'  IWl    A  T^/iL  roglyphics  to  this  Egyptian 

writine.     The  word  means. 

0    '^^^  ^"y?  1^  f  ^"    ^'^^    Greek    language 

//  XTt  TTT'^    '^         "sacred  sculpture."  Neither 

^_  the  Greeks  nor  the  Romans,. 

/>^wvvvi         1 1 1   \      even  while  they  ruled  Egypt, 

'    *   '  ever  undertook  to  learn  to 

aJ!^\JI    ''"^^^^^ff^     0"-.       read  this  writing.  It  seemed 

^  »  »  »  i^  1 1 »      "to    them     an    unknowable 

SONG  OF  THE  THRESHERS.  g^^j.^^^    yj^^g  gradually  the 

ancient  Egyptian  language  perished.  So  the  knowledge 
of  the  reading  of  the  hieroglyphics  passed  away  entirely. 
For  many  centuries  every  attempt  to  read  it  failed,  and 
it  remained  a  hopeless  mystery.  Finally,  about  fifty  years 
ago,  a  Frenchman  succeeded  in  lifting  the  veil.  Jean 
Francois  Champollion  (born  1790,  died  1832),  made  this 
discovery,  one  of  the  greatest  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
He  showed  how  the  writing  was  to  be  read.     Now  the 


THE  LAND   OF  THE  SPHINX. 


97 


whole  can  be  read  perhaps  almost  as  easily  as  Greek  or 
Latin,  or  the  Chinese  or  Burmese  languages.  Thus  was 
the  hidden  history  brought  to  light. 

As  specimens  of  the  hieroglyphics,  Wilkinson  gives 
the  opposite  Song  of  the  Threshers  to  the  Oxen.  His 
translation  of  the  lines  respectively  is  as  follows:  i. 
"Thresh  for  yourselves"  (twice  repeated).  2.  "O  oxen." 
3.  "Thresh  for  yourselves"  (twice).  4.  "Measures  for 
yourselves."    5.  "Measures  for  your  masters." 

Another  specimen  of  hieroglyphics  is  added  below. 


HIEROGLYPHICS. 


98 


£A'/WA'  S    CHAINS. 


SOME    EGYPTIAN    GODS. 

The  Egyptian  gods  are  numbered  by  die  hundreds.  It 
is  possible  for  us  to  refer  to  but  a  few  here.     The  ideas 
of  the  gods  which  prevailed  here 
were  grafted  on  the  simple  nature- 
worship  which  the  people  brought 
to  Egypt  from  their  earlier  home. 
In   every   part   of   Egypt   two 
great  gods,  Isis  and  Osiris,  were 
worshiped.      Isis    is   the    wife   of 
Osiris.     Ra  the  sun-eod  was  the 
greatest  of  the  gods,  he  was  sup- 
posed to  be  the  representative  of 
the    Supreme 
Being.      And 
yet  Osiris  was 
the  most  popu- 
lar   god.      Ra 
was   generally 
represented  as 
a  hawk-headed 
man,  and  usu- 
ally with  a  solar 
disk  upon   his 
head.     Ra  was 
generally  wor- 
shiped in  asso- 
ciation     with 
some     other 
god,  as  Amen- 
Ra,   Num-Ra, 
ect.     In   many 
sculptures     he 
is  represented 


PASHT,  THE  CAT-HEADKD  GOD. 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  SPHINX. 


99 


as  carrying  on  a  constant  conflict  with  the  evil.  Evil  is 
represented  in  these  conflicts  as  the  great  serpent  Apap. 
AtHeliopolis  were  kept  two  animals 
sacred  to  Ra,  the  black  bull  and  the 
phoenix  The  phoenix  was  a  bird 
which  the  Egyptians  regarded  as  the 
emblem  of  immortality;  a  bird  which 
never  died,  but  when  it  was  burned, 
sprang  up  again,  full-grown,  from  its 
ashes,  ready  to  renew  its  activities. 

Osiris  was 
generally  rep- 
resented as  a 
mummy,  wear- 
ing a  royal  cap, 
containing  os- 
trich feathers. 
Osiris  was  re- 
garded as  a 
eoodbeino^and 
was  in  perpetu- 
al warfare  with 
Set,  the  evil 
being.  They 
stand  to  each 
other,  said  the 
Egyptians,  as 
li^ht  and  dark- 
ness,  as  day 
and  night,  as 
the  Nile  and 
ONE  OF  THE  FORMS  OF  ISIS.  ^^  descrts,  as 

Egypt  and  foreign  lands.     Osiris  is  represented  in  the 
myths  as  being  vanquished  by  Set.     He  is  cut  in  pieces 


lOO 


£A'A'OA"S    CHAINS. 


and  thrown  into  the  water.  By  and  by  he  revives  but 
does  not  utterly  destroy  Set,  though  he  defeats  him.  This 
story  probably  is  a  pictijre  of  the  daily  life  of  the  sun, 
contending  with  the  darkness,  yet  at  last  yielding  to  it, 
and  then  again  after  an  interval  .reappearing  at  the  dawn 
•in  renewed  splendor.  Osiris  was  also  a  type  of  strug- 
gling humanity,  suffering  now,  defeated  for  a  time  it  may 
be,  yet  finally  triumphant.  This  was  the  reason  of  his 
worship  being  so  popular.  Osiris  was  the  protector  of 
the  dead,  and  he  determined  their  final  condition.  It  was 
to  Osiris  that  prayers  and  offerings  for  the  dead  were 
made,  and  writings  on  the  tombs  were  addressed  to  him. 
Beside  these  gods,  there  were  Set  the  evil  god,  who 
was  represented  with  the  head  of  a  fabulous  animal, 
having  a  pointed  nose  and  high  square  ears.  Isis,  the 
wife  of  Osiris,  was  represented  as  a  woman,  bearing  on 
her  head  her  emblem  the  throne,  or  the  solar  disk  and 
cow's  horns. 

Amon  (or  Amen)    the    "hidden,"    was    worshiped    at 

Thebes.  Sebek  was  the  croco- 
dile-headed god.  His  sacred 
animal  was  the  crocodile  of  the 
Nile  River.  Thoth  was  the  chief 
moon-god.  He  was  the  god  of 
CROCODILE  GOD.  letters^aud  learning.    Anubis.  the 

jackel-headed  was  the  god  worshiped  by  the  mummy- 
makers.     Thus  gods  were  multiplied. 

ANIMAL   WORSHIP. 

"If  you  enter  a  temple,"  says  Clement  of  Alexandria, 
"a  priest  advances  with  a  solemn  air,  singing  a  hymn  in 
the  Egyptian  language ;  he  raises  the  veil  a  little  to  let 
you  see  the  god  ;  and  what  then  do  you  see  ?  A  cat,  a 
crocodile,  a  snake,  or  some  other  noxious  animal.     The 


THE  LAND   OF  THE  SPHINX.  lOI 

;god  of  the  Egyptian  appears.  It  is  but  a  wild  beast, 
wallowing  on  a  purple  carpet !"  This  language  describes 
the  worship  of  ancient  Egypt  as  we  learn  from  the 
sculptures  on  the  monuments,  as  well  as  it  characterizes 
the  worship  at  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era.  To 
exhibit  in  some  symbol  their  ideas  of  their  gods  was  the 
very  essence  of  Egyptian  religion.  This  brought  about 
the  grossest  of  superstitious  worship.  To  set  forth  in 
symbol  the  attributes,  qualities  and  nature  of  their  gods, 
the  priests  chose  to  use  animals.  The 
bull,  cow,  ram,  cat,  ape,  crocodile,  hippo-  IMmimM 
potamus,  hawk,  ibis,  scarabseus,  were  all  ^l 
emblems  of  the  gods.  Often  the  head  scarab^us. 
of  one  of  these  animals  was  joined  to  the  body  of  a  man  in 
the  sculpture.  But  let  it  be  remembered,  that  the  Egyp- 
iians  never  worshiped  images  or  idols.  They  worshiped 
livhig  representations  of  the  gods  and  not  lifeless  images  of 
stone  or  metal.  Their  sculptures  were  never  made  for 
worship.  They  chose  animals  which  corresponded  as 
nearly  as  possible  to  their  ideas  of  the  gods.  Each  of 
these  sacred  creatures  was  carefully  tended,  fed,  washed, 
•dressed,  nursed  when  sick,  and  petted  during  its  whole 
life.  After  death  its  body  was  embalmed.  Certain  cities 
were  set  apart  for  certain  animals,  and  apartments  of  the 
temples  were  consecrated  to  their  use.  Priests  were 
appointed  to  attend  them.  Not  every  animal  of  every 
kind  was  worshiped,  only  a  few  of  each  sacred  kind  were 
considered  as  sacred.  A  few  of  the  whole  number  were 
supported  at  the  expense  of  the  state,  and  were  attended 
by  great  personages.  Certain  animals  were  worshiped 
in  parts  of  Egypt  and  detested  in  other  parts.  Thus  the 
hippopotamus  was  worshiped  in  Papaemis  alone ;  while 
the  Thebans  worshiped  the  crocodile ;  in  other  places 
thev  were  hunted  to  death. 


I03 


ERJiOkS   CHAINS. 


Popularly  these  animals  were  regarded  as  gods,  and 
were  really  worshiped.  By  the  priests  they  were  re- 
garded simply  as  the  representatives  of  the  gods.  If  a 
man  killed  certain  of  the  sacred  animals,  by  the  laws  of 
Egypt  he  must  die ;  if,  however,  in  regard  to  some  of 
them,  the  killing  was  accidental,  then  he  might  escape  by 
paying  a  heavy  fine. 

A  Roman  soldier  once  killed  a  sacred  cat,  accidentally- 
In  spite  of  the  fear  of  Rome  and  the  interference  of»  the 
King  of  Egypt,  the  enraged  mob  instantly  killed  the 
soldier.  The  story  is  told,  that  King  Cambyses,  when  he- 
invaded  Egypt,  caught  a  number  of  sacred  animals,  and 
placed  them  before  his  army.  The  Egyptians  offered 
them  no  resistance,  but  fled  away,  afraid  to  fight  lest  they 
should  injure  the  sacred  animals. 

Three  animals  were  regarded  as  not  representations, 
merely,  but  incarnations  of  gods  ;  these  were  the  bull 
Mnevis,  the  goat  of  Mendes  and  the  bull  Apis.  Apis 
was  said  to  be  born  of  a  cow,  yet  also  born  of  heaven. 
He  was  to  be  black,  with  a  white  triangle  on  his  forehead,. 
a  mark  like  a  half-moon  on  his  back,  and  a  mark  like  a 
scarabaeus  under  his  tongue.  When  Apis  died,  all  Egypt 
mourned.  As  soon  as  a  new  Apis  was  found,  the  Egyp- 
tians donned  their  best  clothing  and  made  great  rejoicings. 
The  dead  Apis  was  embalmed  and  received  further  wor- 
ship. Apis  was  wrongly  supposed  to  be  the  god  whom 
the  Israelites  imitated  in  their  worship  of  the  golden  calf. 


MUMMIES. 


The  Egyptians  held  it  as  a  central  feature  of  their 
faith,  that  "man  was  not  made  to  die,"  that  we  were  to 
live  a  future  life,  that  death  does  not  end  all.  Many 
heathen  nations  believed  that  the  body,  the  flesh,  was  an 
evil   thing,   the   seat  of  all   base   passions ;    not  so   the 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  SPHINX. 


1 03 


SHROUDING  OF  THE  DEAD. 


Egyptians.  The  greatest  event  in  a  man's  life  happened 
after  his  death  (to  speak  in  apparent  paradoxes).  His 
funeral,  and  the  arrangements  for  it,  surpassed  all  other 
occasions  of  his  lite  in  their  elaborateness.  The  period  of 
mourning  lasted  seventy-two  days.  Perhaps  during  all 
this  time,  the  process  of  embalming  was  going  on  by  the 
use  of  peculiar  pre- 
parations which  were 
forced  throuo^h  his 
veins  as  the  blood 
was  withdrawn,  and 
by  wrapping  the  body  in  linen  bands  containing  sub- 
stances which  prevented  the  flesh  from 
decaying.  The  outermost  bandage 
v/as  covered  with  a  kind  of  paste- 
board, which  represented  the  de- 
ceased as  a  workman  in  the  Happy 
Fields,  carrying  the  tools  of  husbandry. 
This  is  commonly  called  the  mummy. 
Before  the  wrapping  in  the  linen 
bandages  began,  the  body  had  been 
steeped  in  a  liquid  called  naU'OJi 
(carbonate  of  soda).  Herodotus 
presents  a  very  full  description  of 
the  process  of  embalming.  There  is 
no  doubt  but  that  all  this  was  done 
as  a  preparation  for  the  return  of 
the  soul  to  the  body  in  a  future 
world.  The  mummy  was  inclosed 
in  a  coffin  of  wood,  and  this  again, 
if  the  person's  friends  were  rich, 
in  a  stone  sarcophagus  or  coffin. 
The  coffin  was  placed  on  a  sledge 
drawn  by  oxen  or  men,  taken  to  the  mummy  case. 


I04 


ERROA"S   CHAINS. 


river  or  lake-side  and  ferried  over  to  the  burial-place  on 
the  sacred  boats.  The  coffin  was  deposited  in  the  tomb, 
and  prayers  were  said,  and  offerings  given  in  the  chapel 
above  the  tomb.  Offerings  to  Osiris  were  made  during 
an  entire  year  by  the  family. 

THE  CELEBRATED  BOOK  OF  THE  DEAD. 

Among  many  books  which  the  Egyptians  once   pos- 
sessed, one  still  remains  in  its  endrety.     It  is  somewhat 

confusing  in  its  style,  and 
yet  it  is  in  the  main  to  be 
understood.  A  copy  of 
this  Funeral  Liturgy  or 
Book  of  the  Dead  was 
3  placed  in  every  mummy's 
coffin.  We  give  a  very 
full  abstract  of  it,  because 
of  its  unusual  importance 
in  the  religious  history  of 
the  world. 

The  Funeral  Ritual  is 
opened  with  a  dialogue 
taking  place  at  the  very 
moment  of  death,  when 
the  soul  separates  from 
the  body.  The  deceased, 
addressing  the  deity  of 
Hades,  enumerates  all  his 
tides  to  his  favor,  and  asks  for  admittance  into  his  do- 
minions. The  chorus  of  glorified  souls  interposes,  as  in 
the  Greek  tragedy,  and  supports  the  prayer  of  the 
deceased.  The  priest  on  earth  in  his  turn  speaks,  and 
implores  also  the  divine  clemency.  Finally  Osiris,  the 
god  of  the  lower  regions,  answers  the  deceased,  "Fear 


FORMS  OF  MUMMY  CASES. 

I,  2,  3,  4.     Of  wood.  5,  6,  7,  8.     Of  stone 

J.  Of  wood  and  of  early  time — before  the  i8th  dyn.Tsty 
lo.  Of  burnt  earthenware. 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  SPHINX. 


105 


nothing  in  making  thy  prayer  to  me  for  the  immortaHty 
of  thy  soul,  and  that  I  may  give  permission  for  thee  to 
pass  the  threshold."  Reassured  by  the  divine  word,  the 
soul  of  the  deceased  enters  Kar-Neter,  the  land  of  the 
dead,  and  recommences  his  invocations. 

After  this  grand  commencement,  which  we  have  epito- 
mized, come  many  short  chapters,  much  less  important, 
relative  also  to  the  dead  and  to  the  preliminary  ceremo- 
nies of  his  funeral.  When  at  last  the  soul  of  the  deceased 
has  passed  the  gates  of  Kar-Neter,  he  penetrates  into 
that  subterranean  region,  and  at  his  entry  is  dazzled  by 
the  glory  of  the  sun,  which  he  now  for  the  first  time  sees 
in  this  lower  hemisphere.  He  sings  a  hymn  to  the  sun 
under  the  form  of  mixed  litanies  and  invocations.  After 
this  hymn,  a  great  vignette,  representing  the  adoration 
and  elorification  of  the  sun  in  the  heavens,  on  earth  and 
in  Hades,  marks  the  end  of  the  first  part  of  the  Ritual, 
serving  as  a  sort  of  introduction.  The  second  part  traces 
the  journeys  and  migrations  of  the  soul  in  the  lower  region. 
Next  come  a  series  of  prayers  to  be  pronounced 
during  the  process  of  embalming,  while  the  body  is  being 
rolled  in  its  wrappers.  These  invocations  are  addressed 
to  Thoth,  the  Egyptian  Hermes,  who,  as  among  the 
Greeks,  played  the  part  of  Psychopompe,  or  conductor 
of  souls.  They  are  of  the  highest  interest,  for  in  each 
allusion  is  made  to  the  grand  myth  of  Osiris  and  his 
contest  with  Typhon,  of  which  Plutarch  and  Synesius 
have  given  us  the  most  recent  versions.  The  deceased, 
addressing  the  god,  asks  him  to  render  to  him  again  the 
service  he  once  rendered  on  that  solemn  occasion  to 
Osiris  and  his  son  Horus,  "avenger  of  his  father." 

The  body  once  wrapped  in  its  coverings,  and  the  soul 
well  provided  with  a  store  of  necessary  knowledge,  the 
deceased  commences  his  journey.     But  he  is  still  unable 


io6 


EJiROJi'S   CHAINS. 


to  move,  he  has  not  yet  the  use  of  his  Hmbs ;  it  is  neces- 
sary to  address  the  gods,  who  successively  restore  all  the 
faculties  he  had  during  his  life,  so  that  he  can  stand  up- 
right, walk,  speak,  eat  and  fight.  Thus  prepared,  he 
starts ;  he  holds  his  scarabseus  over  his  heart  as  a  pass- 
port, and  thus  passes  the  portal  of  Hades. 

From  the  first  step,  terrible  obstacles  present  them- 
selves in  his  way.  Frightful  monsters,  servants  of 
Typhon,  crocodiles  on  land  and  in  the  water,  serpents  of 
all  kinds,  tortoises  and  other  reptiles,  assail  the  deceased 
and  attempt  to  devour  him.  Then  commences  a  series 
of  combats.  The  deceased  and  the  animals  against 
which  he  contends  mutually  address  insulting  speeches 
to  each  other,  after  the  fashion  of  Homer's  heroes. 
Finally,  the  "Osiris"  (the  name  applied  to  all  the  de- 
ceased) has  conquered  all  his  enemies  ;  he  has  subdued  the 
Typhonic  monsters,  and  forced  a  passage,  and,  elated  by  his 
victory,  sings  on  the  spot  a  song  of  triumph,  likening  him- 
self to  all  the  gods,  whose  members  are  made  those  of  his 
own  body.  "  My  hair  is  like  that  of  Nu  (the  firmament) ; 
my  face  is  like  that  of  Ra  (the  sun) ;  my  eyes  like  those 
of  Athor  (the  Egyptian  Venus) ;"  and  so  on  for  every 
part  of  his  body.  He  has  even  the  strength  of  Set,  that  is, 
of  Typhon,  for  the  strife  between  the  good  and  evil  prin- 
ciple is  but  in  appearance  ;  in  reality  they  are  one  and  the 
same,  and  equally  receive  the  adorations  of  the  initiated. 

After  such  labors  the  deceased  needs  rest ;  he  stays 
for  a  time  to  recruit  his  strength  and  to  satisfy  his  hun- 
ger. He  has  escaped  great  dangers,  and  has  not  gone 
astray  in  the  desert  where  he  would  have  died  of  hunger 
and  thirst.  From  the  tree  of  life  the  eoddess  Nu  eives 
him  refreshing  waters,  which  invigorate  him  and  enable 
him  to  recommence  his  journey  in  order  to  reach  the  first 
gate  of  heaven. 


THE  LAND   OF   THE  SPHINX. 


107 


Then  commences  a  dialosfue  between  the  deceased  and 
the  personification  of  the  divine  Light,  who  instructs  him. 
This  dialogue  pre- 
sents some  most 
remarkable  resem- 
blances to  the 
dialogue  prefixed 
to  the  books  given 
by  the  Alexandrian 
Greeks  as  transla- 
tions of  the  ancient 
religious  writings 
of  Egypt,  between 
Thoth  and  the 
Light,  in  which  the 
latter  explains  to 
Thoth  the  most 
sublime  mysteries 
of  nature.  This 
portion  is  certainly 
one  of  the  best 
and  grandest  of 
the  Ritual,and  may 
almost  be  classed 
with  the  invoca- 
tions to  the  sun  at 
the  close  of  the 
first  part. 

The  deceased, 
having  passed  the 
eate,  continues  to 
advance,guided  by 
this  new  LiMit,  to  whom  he  addresses  his  invocations. 
He  then  enters  upon  a  series  of  transformations,  more 


EGYPTIAN  PRIESTESS. 


io8 


EJiJiOJiS   CHAINS. 


and  more  elevated,  assuming  the  form  of  and  identifying 
himself  with  the  noblest  divine  symbols.  He  is  changed 
successively  into  a  hawk,  an  angel  or  divine  messenger ; 
into  a  lotus ;  into  the  god  Ptah ;  into  a  heron  ;  into  a 
crane ;  into  a  human-headed  bird,  the  usual  emblem  of  a 
soul;  into  a  swallow;  into  a  serpent,  and  into  a  crocodile. 

Up  to  this  time  the  soul  of  the  deceased  has  been 
making  its  journeys  alone ;  it  has  been  merely  a  sort  of 
image ;  a  mere  shade,  with  the  appearance  of  that  body 
now  stretched  on  the  bier.  After  these  transformations 
the  soul  becomes  reunited  to  its  body,  which  is  needed 
for  the  rest  of  the  journey.  It  was  on  this  account  that 
careful  embalming  was  so  important ;  it  was  necessary 
that  the  soul  should  find  the  body  perfect  and  well-pre- 
served. "Oh,"  cries  the  body,  "that  in  the  dwelling  of 
the  master  of  life  I  may  be  reunited  to  my  glorified  soul, 
do  not  order  the  guardians  of  heaven  to  destroy  me,  sq 
as  to  send  away  my  soul  from  my  corpse,  and  hinder  the 
eye  of  Horus,  who  is  with  thee,  from  preparing  my 
way." 

The  deceased  traverses  the  dwelling  of  Thoth,  who 
gives  him  a  book  containing  instructions  for  the  rest  of 
his  way,  and  fresh  lessons  of  the  knowledge  he  is  soon 
to  require.  He  arrives  on  the  banks  of  the  subterranean 
river  separating  him  from  the  Elysian  Fields,  but  there  a 
new  danger  awaits  him.  A  false  boatman,  the  envoy  of 
the  Typhonic  powers,  lays  wait  for  him  on  his  way,  and 
endeavors  by  deceitful  words  to  get  him  into  his  boat,  so 
as  to  mislead  him  and  take  him  to  the  east  instead  of  to 
the  west,  his  true  destination,  and  where  he  ought  to> 
land,  and  rejoin  the  sun  of  the  lower  world.  The  deceased 
again  escapes  this  new  danger ;  he  unmasks  the  perfidy 
of  the  false  boatman,  and  drives  him  away,  overwhelming 
him  with  reproaches.     He  at  last  meets  the  right  boat  to- 


THE  LAND  OF   THE  SPHINX.  jqq 

conduct  him  to  his  destination.  But  before  getting  inta 
it,  it  is  necessary  to  ascertain  if  he  is  really  capable  of 
making  the  voyage,  if  he  possesses  a  sufficient  amount 
of  the  knowledge  necessary  to  his  safety.  The  divine 
boatman  therefore  makes  him  undergo  an  examination,  a 
preliminary  initiation,  seemingly  corresponding  to  the 
lesser  Eleusinian  mysteries.  The  deceased  passes  the 
examination  ;  each  part  of  the  boat  then  seems  succes- 
sively to  become  animated,  and  to  demand  of  him  its 
name,  and  the  mystical  meaning  of  the  name.  The  stake 
for  anchoring  the  boat.  Tell  me  my  name  !  "The  Lord 
of  the  earth  in  thy  case,"  is  thy  name.  The  rudder.  Tell 
me  my  name  !  "  The  enemy  of  Apis,"  is  thy  name.  The 
rope.  Tell  me  my  name  !  "The  hair  with  which  Anubis 
binds  up  the  folds  of  the  v/rappers,"  is  thy  name ;  and  so- 
on for  twenty-three  questions  and  answers. 

After  having  thus  victoriously  passed  through  this  trial,, 
the  deceased  embarks,  traverses  the  subterranean  river, 
and  lands  on  the  other  bank,  when  he  soon  arrives  at  the 
Elysian  Fields  in  the  valley  of  Avura,  or  E^alot,  the  posi- 
tion of  which  the  ritual  gives  in  these  terms,  "The  valley 
of  Balot  (abundance),  at  the  east  of  heaven,  is  370  cubits 
long,  and  140  cubits  broad.  There  is  a  crocodile  lord  of 
Balot  in  the  east  of  that  valley  in  his  divine  dwelling 
above  the  inclosure.  There  is  a  serpent  at  the  head  of 
that  valley,  thirty  cubits  long,  his  body  six  cubits  round. 
In  the  south  is  the  lake  of  sacred  principles  (Sharu) ;  the 
north  is  formed  by  the  lake  of  Primordial  Matter  (Rubu)." 
A  large  picture  here  shows  us  this  valley,  a  real  subter- 
ranean Egypt,  intersected  by  canals,  where  we  see  the 
"Osiris"  occupied  in  all  the  operations  of  agriculture ; 
preparing  the  ground,  sowing  and  reaping  in  the  divine 
fields  an  ample  provision  of  that  bread  of  knowledge  he 
is  now  to  find  more  necessary  than  ever.     He  has,  in  fact,. 


no 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


arrived  at  the  end  of  his  journey ;  he  has  before  him  only 
the  last,  but  also  the  most  terrible  of  all  his  trials. 

Conducted  by  Anubis  he  traverses  the  labyrinth,  and  by 
the  aid  of  the  clew,  guiding  them  through  its  windings,  at 
last  penetrates  to  the  judgment-hall,  where  Osiris  awaits 
him,  seated  on  his  throne,  and  assisted  by  forty-two  ter- 
rible assessors.  There  the  decisive  sentence  is  to  be 
pronounced,  either  admitting  the  deceased  to  happiness 
or  excluding-  him  forever.  Then  commences  a  new  inter- 
rogatory,  much  more  solemn  than  the  former.  The 
deceased  is  obliged  to  give  proof  of  his  knowledge ;  he 
must  show  that  it  is  great  enough  to  give  him  the  right 
to  be  admitted  to  share  the  lot  of  glorified  spirits.  Each 
of  the  forty-two  judges,  bearing  a  mystical  name,  ques- 
tions him  in  turn  ;  he  is  obliged  to  tell  each  one  his  name, 
and  what  it  means.  Nor  is  this  all ;  he  is  obliged  to  give 
an  account  of  his  whole  life. 

"I  have  not  blasphemed,"  says  the  deceased;  "I  have 
not  stolen;  I  have  not  smitten  men  privily;  I  have  not 
treated  any  person  with  cruelty;  I  have  not  stirred  up 
trouble;  I  have  not  been  idle;  I  have  not  been  intoxi- 
cated; I  have  not  made  unjust  commandments;  I  have 
shown  no  improper  curiosity;  I  have  not  allowed  my 
mouth  to  tell  secrets;  I  have  not  wounded  anyone;  I 
have  not  let  envy  gnaw  my  heart;  I  have  spoken  evil 
neither  of  the  king,  nor  my  father;  I  have  not  falsely  ac- 
cused any  one;  I  have  not  withheld  milk  from  the  mouths 
of  sucklings;  I  have  not  practiced  any  shameful  crime; 
I  have  not  calumniated  a  slave  to  his  master." 

The  deceased  does  not  confine  himself  to  denying  any 
ill  conduct;  he  speaks  of  the  good  he  has  done  in  his 
lifetime.  "I  have  made  to  the  gods  the  offerings  that 
were  their  due.  I  have  given  food  to  the  hungiy,  drink 
to  the  thirsty,  and  clothes  to  the  naked."     We  may  well 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  SPHINX.  j  j  j 

on  reading  these  passages  be  astounded  at  this  high 
moraUty,  superior  to  that  of  all  other  ancient  people,  that 
the  Egyptians  had  been  able  to  build  up  on  such  a  foun- 
dation as  their  religion.  Without  doubt  it  was  this  clear 
insight  into  truth,  this  tenderness  of  conscience,  which 
obtained  for  the  Egyptians  the  reputation  for  wisdom, 
echoed  even  by  Holy  Scripture. 

Besides  these  general  precepts,  the  apology  acquaints 
us  with  some  police  regulations  for  public  order,  raised 
by  common  interest  in  Egypt  to  the  rank  of  conscientious 
duties.  Thus  the  deceased  denies  ever  having  intercepted 
the  irrigating  canals,  or  having  prevented  the  distribution 
of  the  waters  of  the  river  over  the  country;  he  declares 
that  he  has  never  damao-ed  the  stones  for  moorine  vessels 
on  the  river.  Crimes  ao-ainst  reliofion  are  also  mentioned: 
some  seem  very  strange  to  us,  especially  when  we  find 
them  classed  with  really  moral  faults.  The  deceased  has 
never  altered  the  prayers  or  interpolated  them.  He  has 
never  touched  any  of  the  sacred  property,  such  as  flocks 
and  herds,  or  fished  for  the  sacred  fish  in  the  lakes  of  the 
temples ;  he  has  not  stolen  offerings  from  the  altar,  nor 
defiled  the  sacred  waters  of  the  Nile. 

The  Osiris  is  now  fully  satisfied;  his  heart  has  been 
weighed  in  the  balance  with  truth,  and  not  been  found 
wanting;  the  forty-two  assessors  have  pronounced  that 
he  possesses  the  necessary  knowledge.  The  great  Osiris 
pronounces  his  sentence,  and  Thoth,  as  recorder  to  the 
tribunal,  having  inscribed  it  in  his  book,  the  deceased  at 
last  enters  into  bliss. 

Here  commences  the  third  part  of  the  Ritual,  more 
mystical  and  obscure  than  the  others.  We  see  the  Osiris, 
henceforth  identified  with  the  sun,  traversing  with  him, 
and  as  him,  the  various  houses  of  heaven,  and  the  lake 
of  fire,  the  source  of  all  light.     Afterwards  the   Ritual 


I  12 


EJH'^  Oir  S    CIIA  INS. 


rises  to  a  higher  poetical  Might,  even  contemplating  the 
identification  of  the  deceased  with  a  symbolical  figure 
comprising  all  the  attributes  of  the  deities  of  the  Egyp- 
tian Pantheon.    This  representation  ends  the  work. 

EGYPTIAN     WORSHIP. 

The  gods  of  Egypt  were  worshiped  in  temples  and 
tombs.  Every  town  had  at  least  one  temple.  The  ser- 
vices were  conducted  by  the  priests,  and  on  special  occa- 
sions the  king  and  scribes  joined.  The  common  people 
had  but  litde  to  do  with  the  worship.    The  most  important 


.'WENUE  OF  SPHINXES  LEADING  TO  A  TE.MPLE. 

worship   took  place  in  the  innermost  chambers,  where 
only  the  priests  were  at  all  permitted  to  go. 

The  sacrifices  were  of  animals  and  vegetables  with  the 
pouring  out  of  wine  and  the  burning  of  incense.  The 
temples  were  gigantic  structures  grouped  together. 
They  were  generally  approached  by  avenues  of  sphinxes. 
The  great  temples  are  almost  all  found  in  Upper  Egypt, 
while  the  pyramids  are  in  Lower  Egypt.  The  inhabitants 
of  Egypt  were  once  the  greatest  nation  of  earth,  and 
they    built   temples    corresponding    to   their   greatness. 


IIIE  LAND   Of    THE  SPHINX. 


113 


GATEWAY  OF  THE  ANCIENT  EGYPTIAN  TEMPLE  OF  KARNAK. 

Thebes,  in  Upper  Egypt,  Nvas  once  a  greater  city  than 
Babylon,  or  Rome,  or  London.  It  was  built  on  both 
sides  of  the  River  Nile.     To  it  all  the  siirroundincr  na- 


114 


ERUOH'S   CHAINS. 


tions  flocked.  The  temples  of  Thebes  have,  in  magnifi- 
cent grandeur  and  majestic  beauty,  probably  never  been, 
surpassed  in  any  later  age.  Of  these  temples,  Luxor  and 
Karnak  were  the  greatest.  Between  these  two  stretched 
an  avenue  of  140  gigantic  columns,  each  twelve  feet  in 
diameter,  their  massive   sides  covered  with   sculptures. 

The  columns  were  so  orreat 
-^--^  that  we  cannot  understand 
-^  how  they  could  be  cut  out 
7^  of  the  quarries  and  brought 
-  the  140  miles  that  they 
must  pass  over  to  get  to- 
_  Thebes.  Karnak  was  the 
^  work  of  generations.  It 
was  2,500  years  in  building.. 
_=  Abraham  must  have  seen 
^  Karnak  when  he  journeyed 
to  Egypt.  Moses  must 
T^  have  been  familiar  with  its 
^^  courts.  The  messengers 
=:  of  Israel,  who  in  after  agfes 
\^k  ^^^§^*^  alliance  with  power- 
^  ful  Egypt,  must  have  looked 
upon  its  columns  and  walls. 
Karnak  was  a  cluster  of 
temples.  The  central  one 
was  1 ,  1 08  feet  long  and  300 
feet  broad.  The  circuit  of 
its  walls,  says  a  Roman  historian  who  saw  it  in  all  its 
glory,  was  a  mile  and  a  half.  Near  Thebes  are  the  statues 
of  Memnon,  which  were  said  to  sing  when  the  rays  of 
the  rising  sun  touched  their  lips.  Possibly  the  breeze  of 
the  early  morning  struck  upon  some  concealed  musical 
contrivance  in  the  statue  and  produced  the  sound. 


THE  SINGING  MEMNON. 


iiiiilililil^ 


LAND  OF  THE  SPHINX, 


117 


The    most   imposing   monuments  of  Egypt   are   the 
pyramids  of  El  Gizeh.     The  largest  of  these  is  the  pyr- 


jjg  ERROR'S   CHAINS. 

amid  of  Cheops.  This  is  480  feet  high,  and  contains 
more  than  ten  millions  of  cubic  yards  of  stone.  The 
pyramid  is  so  placed  that  its  four  sides  exactly  face  the 
four  points  of  the  compass.  The  pyramids  were  probably 
great  tombs.  At  the  foot  of  the  pyramids  is  the  great 
Sphinx.  This  is  a  monument  of  a  man-headed  lion, 
nearly  ninety  feet  long  and  seventy-four  feet  high.  Its 
face  is  twenty-six  feet  long.  It  is  carved  out  of  solid 
rock.  This  great  Sphinx  is  said  to  be  the  image  of 
the  god  Har-ma-chu,  the  setting  sun.  Between  the  two 
front  paws  of  the  Sphinx  was  placed  a  small  chapel, 
consecrated  to  the  god.  As  Ampere  says:  "This  huge, 
mutilated  figure  has  an  astonishing  effect;  it  seems  like 
an  eternal  spectre.  The  stone  phantom  seems  attentive ; 
one  would  say  that  it  hears  and  sees.  Its  great  ear 
appears  to  collect  the  sounds  of  the  past;  its  eye,  directed 
to  the  east,  gazes  as  it  were  into  the  future;  its  aspect  has 
a  depth,  a  truth  of  expression,  irresistibly  fascinating  to 
the  spectator.  In  this  figure,  half  statue,  half  mountain,  we 
see  a  wonderful  majesty,  a  grand  serenity,  and  even  a 
sort  of  sweetness  of  expression." 

There  was  much  of  majestic  beauty  about  the  Egyptian 
religion  and  worship,  but  there  was  mixed  with  it  a  mass  of 
debasing  superstition.  When  King  Cambyses  of  Persia 
conquered  Egypt,  and  the  supremacy  of  the  world  passed 
out  of  Egypt's  hands,  the  downfall  of  its  religion  com- 
menced. The  religion  of  the  conquerors  was  mingled 
with  their  own.  After  some  hundreds  of  years,  Chris- 
tianity was  spread  over  all  north  Africa  and  up  the  Nile. 
Then  in  the  year  639,  after  Christ,  Mohammedanism  con- 
quered Egypt.  This  religion  continues  to  predominate 
in  Egypt. 


WORSHIP    OF    THE    CHALDEANS, 


119 


CHAPTER  VI. 

WORSHIP    OF    THE    CHALDEANS.* 

At  that  time  the  heaven  above  was  unnamed, 

In  the  earth  beneath  a  name  was  unrecorded ; 

Chaos,  too,  was  unopened  around  them. 

By  name  the  mother  Tihamtu,  [the  Deep]  was  the  begetter  of  them  all. 

Their  waters  in  one  place  were  not  embosomed,  and 

The  fruitful  herb  was  uncollected,  the  marsh-plant  ungrown. 

At  that  time  the  gods  [stars]  were  not  made  to  go ;  none  of  them  by 

name  were  recorded;  order  was  not  among  them. 
Then  were  made  the  great  gods;  and  these  Lakhmu  and  Lakhamu 

caused  to  go;  until  they  were  grown  they  nurtured  them. 
The  gods  Assur  and  Kissar  were  made  by  their  hands, 
A  length  of  days,  a  long  time  passed,  and  the  gods  Anu,  Bel  and  Hea 

were  created ;  the  gods  Assur  and  Kissar  begat  them. 

From  the  Chaldean  (  Cuneiform)  Creation  Tablets. 

IN  the  TigTo- Euphrates  Valley,  or  basin,  as  it  is  called, 
the  commencement  of  the  histor}^  of  man  is  placed. 
"And  it  came  to  pass  that  as  they  journeyed  from 
the  east,  they  found  a  plain  in  the  land  of  Shinar:  and 
they  dwelt  there."  Here  was  great  Babel  built,  and  here 
occurred  the  confusion  of  tongues,  and  from  here  the 
nations  were  scattered  over  all  the  world.  After  this 
■scattering  to  east,  west  and  south,  there  was  left  a  large 
body  of  people  of  different  nations,  in  Chaldea.  The 
great  monuments  and  inscriptions,  which  are  the  only 
remaining  books  of  early  history,  tell  us  of  two  great 

*  Lenormant,  the  eminent  French  scholar  of  Assyrian  antiquities,  is  our  authority 
>for  the  main  part  of  this  chapter,  and  we  have  quoted  liberally  from  his  writings. 


I  20 


EKROH'S   CHAINS. 


nations  called  the  Sumir  and  Accad.  Of  the  descent 
of  these  peoples,  it  can  be  said  with  certainty  only  that 
there  were  Hamites  among  them.    The  Shemites  are  the 

founders   of  the   Assyrian    king- 
^  dom,  the  Hamites  of  the   Baby- 

n        Ionian,      These  and   some  other 
^   scattered  tribes  of  other  nations, 
were  worshipers  of  the  heavenly 
bodies,  the  sun,  moon  and  stars. 
Hence  came  the  extraordinary  de- 

STAR  WORSHIPERS.  velopmcnt  of  astronomy  in  these 

lands.  Their  strange  and  imperfect  civilization  had  an 
immense  influence  over  a  great  part  of  Asia,  for  over 
1500  years. 

The  peoples  of  Chaldea  did  not  at  first  intermingle  with 
each  other,  but  maintained  a  separate  existence  as  tribes. 
Here  was,  however,  the  first  organized  government  of 
the  world.  "  Cush  begat  Nimrod:  he  began  to  be  a 
mighty  one  in  the  earth.  He  was  a  mighty  hunter  be- 
fore the  Lord:  wherefore  it  is  said,  Even  as  Nimrod,  the 
mighty  hunter  before  the  Lord.  And  the  beginning  of 
his  kingdom  was  Babel,  and  Erech,  and  Accad,  and  Cal- 
neh,  in  the  land  of  Shinar.  Out  of  that  land  went  forth 
Asshur,  and  builded  Nineveh,  and  the  streets  of  the  city» 
and  Calah  and  Resen,  between  Nineveh  and  Calah:  the 
same  is  a  great  city."  Asshur  was  of  the  Semitic  race, 
while  Nimrod  was  a  Cushite.  These  two  people  lived 
long  together,  and  this  explains  how  they  came  to  have 
the  same  language  and  civilization  in  spite  of  their  being 
of  different  origin.  The  four  great  cities  mentioned 
above  gave  to  their  king,  the  tide  ''king  of  the  four 
regions."  The  founding  of  this  great  empire  occurred 
only  a  little  later  than  the  beginning  of  the  great  Egyp- 
tian  kingdom.     We  know  almost  nothing  of  the  history 


WORSHIP    OF   THE    CHALDEANS.  j2I 

of  the  Chaldean  kings  who  succeeded  Nimrod,  except 
that  which  a  few  traditions  tell  us. 

THE    GREAT   CHALDEAN    HISTORIAN. 

Berosus  was  a  Chaldean  priest  who  lived  in  the  days 
of  Alexander  the  Great.  He  was  a  very  learned  man. 
He  translated  the  history  of  Babylonia  into  the  Greek 
language.  His  history  commences  with  the  creation  and 
is  carried  down  to  his  own  time.  He  drew  from  the 
ancient  records  of  Babylonia,  from  traditions  of  the 
people,  and  from  inscriptions  on  the  monuments.  We 
have  already  referred  to  the  traditions  of  the  creation  and 
deluge  which  he  preserved.  About  2400  B.  C,  accord- 
ing to  Berosus,  the  Medes  conquered  Babylonia.  Here 
for  the  first  time  we  meet  with  the  name  of  Zoroaster, 
the  founder  of  Parseeism.  The  record  of  Berosus  is  very 
much  valued  because  of  the  ground  which  it  covers.  It 
is  wonderfully  in  agreem'ent  with  the  Bible  record.  At 
first  his  statements  were  questioned  and  disputed,  but 
the  researches  of  modern  scholars  in  many  respects  con- 
firmed their  complete  accuracy. 

RUINED    MONUMENTS. 

The  ruins  of  Chaldea  have  been  as  yet  but  imperfectly 
explored.  The  great  buildings  and  monuments  have 
been  buried  beneath  the  ground  for  hundreds  of  years, 
and  the  work  of  digging  them  out  is  a  slow  one.  When 
we  remember  that  these  cities  and  their  buildincrs  were 
among  the  first  ever  erected,  and  that  Nebuchadnezzar 
(or  Nabukudur-ussur,  as  Berosus  calls  him,)  and  his  suc- 
cessors only  repaired  and  added  to  these,  we  can  see 
the  value  of  exhuming  them.  Stone  is  very  rare  in 
Chaldea,  and  could  be  brought  only  at  great  expense 
from  a  distance.     Hence  all  the  buildines  of  earlier  aees 


122 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


were  built  of  bricks.  So  we  read  of  the  Tower  of  Babel, 
that  "they  had  bricks  for  stone."  On  each  one  of  these 
bricks  was  generally  stamped  the  name  of  the  king  who 
•erected  the  building.  The  greater  part  of  the  early 
Chaldean  inscriptions  are  found  on  these  bricks.  Hero- 
dotus tells  us  that  the  Babylo- 
nians built  with  these  sun-dried 
bricks,  and  with  here  and  there 
a    layer    of    reed-matting    ce- 


BABYLONISH  COFFIN  AND  LID  OF  GREEN  GLAZED  POTTERY. 

.mented  with  bitumen.  The  outsides  of  the  buildings 
were  covered  with  burnt  or  kiln-dried  bricks  to  keep  out  the 
rain.  More  elaborate  specimens  of  their  pottery  appear 
in  articles  for  domestic  uses,  and  especially  in  their  coffins. 
The  sacred  buildings  appear  to  have  been  often  built 
in  the  form  of  a  pyramid,  with  steps  or  stages,  forming 
a  series  of  terraces,  each  smaller  than  the  one  beneath 
it.  This  IS  the  traditional  style  of  buildings  of  the  Tower 
of  Babel.  The  same  tendency  to  build  high  sacred 
buildings  is  seen  in  the  pagodas  of  India,  Burmah  and 
China,  in  the  Mohammedan  towers,  like  the  Koutub 
Minar,  and  the  spires  of  Christian  churches.  The  object 
at  the  first  seems  to  have  been  the  getting  nearer  to 
the  heavenly  bodies,  the  object  of  their  worship.  On  the 
upper  terrace,  or  platform,  appears  to  have  been  built  in 
most  cases,  a  small  chapel,  or  square  room,  richly  orna- 
mented, containing  an  image  of  the  god  of  the  temple. 


WORSHIP    OF   THE    CHALDEANS. 


125 


Of  ancient  Babylonian  sculptures  but  few  are  known 
to  remain.  Of  these,  one  is  a  small  bronze  figure  of 
a  goddess  named  Keodormabug,  and  a  broken  statu- 
ette in  alabaster  of  the  god  Nebo.  But  a  number  of 
small  cylinders  of  stone  that  were  used  as  seals,  and 
which  are  covered  with  engravings  or  inscriptions,  give  us 
much  information  of  eaHy  Chaldean  history.  The  Chal- 
deans were  far  advanced  in  astronomy  and  in  arithmetic^ 
which  is  indispensable  to  a  knowledge  of  astronomy. 


A    LIBRARY    OF    BRICK    BOOKS. 


The  Chaldeans  had  eight  sacred  books,  said  to  have 
been  written  by  the  god  Oannes.  No  copies  of  these 
original  books  remain.  But  some  of  their  sayings  were 
copied  into  the  books  of  later  kings.  All  that  remains 
of  the  books  of  ancient  Chaldea  is  that  which  had  been 
transported  to  Assyria,  where  it  was  found  by  Layard 
and  later  by  Smith,  in  making  their  excavations  at  Nine- 
veh. He  found  in  the  ruins  of  the  palace  built  by  King 
Asshurbanipal,  in  one  of  the  halls,  a  library.  "  This  curi- 
ous library  consists  entirely  of  flat,  square  tablets  of 
baked  clay,  having  on  each  side  a  page  of  very  small 
and  closely  written  cuneiform  cursive  letters,  impressed 
on  the  clay  while  it  was  still  moist.  Each  tablet  was 
numbered  and  formed  a  page  of  a  book  composed  of  a 
number  of  such  tablets,  probably  piled  one  on  another  in 
the  library."  The  greater  part  of  these  tablets  are  now 
in  England.  This  collection  was  intended  for  a  public 
library  as  we  see  from  the  following  translation  of  some 
of  the  tablets : 

"  Palace  of  Asshurbanipal,  king  of  the  world,  king  of 
Assyria,  to  whom  the  god  Nebo  and  the  goddess  Tash- 
mit  (goddess  of  wisdom),  have  given  ears  to  hear  and 
eyes  to  see  what  is  the  foundation  of  government.  They 


J  24  £A'/^OA'\S   CHAINS. 

have  revealed  to  the  kings,  my  predecessors,  this  cunei- 
form writing,  the  manifestatation  of  the  god  Nebo,  the 
god  of  supreme  intelligence.  I  have  written  it  upon 
tablets,  I  have  signed  it,  I  have  placed  it  in  my  palace  for 
the  instruction  of  my  subjects." 

The  cuneiform  characters,  as  they  are  called,  are  made 
up  of  marks  shaped  like  arrow-heads  or  wedges.  There 
were  enormous  difficulties  in  the  way  of  their  interpreta- 
tion. In  Egypt  the  similar  task  of  making  known  the 
meaning  of  the  hieroglyphics  was  performed  in  great 

JrTTfT  ^  T  <  -^r  -^  («  g-  «  j:lfn  >i- 

«  I  «  ^^  ^.....)  Tf  T  tint  <T-  -4  A-IT-  (••••• 

« I « -.^  .^v ....)  n  \  ^>f  m^  f y  >t  4  •- 

CUNEIFORM  LETTERS. 

part  by  one  man,  ChampoUion,  but  in  Assyria  the  work 
was  done  by  many  scholars.  Now  the  famous  library 
is  nearly  all  translated,  as  are  the  inscriptions  on  the 
seals  as  well.     Asshurbanipal  lived  about  B.  C.  650. 

MANNERS    AND    CUSTOMS. 

The  habits  of  life  of  any  people  both  affect  and  are 
affected  by  their  religious  belief.  In  heathen  lands,  both  of 
the  present  and  the  past,  the  daily  home-life  is  interwoven 
with  religious  observances.  The  Assyrians  have  been 
called  "the  Romans  of  the  East."  They  were  a  fierce 
and  warlike  race.  They  were  naturally  a  religious  people, 
and  the  worship  of  the  gods  held  a  very  prominent  place 
at  least  in  their  public  life.     But,  sad  to  say,  their  devo- 


WORSHIP   OF    THE    CHALDEANS. 


125 


tion  to  religion  was  associated  with  such  a  degrading 
worship  of  many  false  gods,  that  they  were  dragged 
down  by  it,  instead  of  being  exalted. 
They  were  very  intelligent.  They 
were  mainly  agriculturists,  though 
the  arts  flourished.  It  seldom  rained 
there  except  in  winter,  so  they  turned 
the  waters  of  the  Tigris  and  the 
Euphrates  Rivers  into  channels,  and 
conveyed  them  through  their  fields. 
The  priests  and  kings  dressed  in 
garments  of  woven  stuffs  dyed  in 
brilliant  colors,  and  beautifully  em- 
broidered with  symbolical  figures, 
animals,  men,  flowers  and  divine 
symbols.  The  costume  of  the  As- 
syrians consisted  of  a  robe  open  at 
the  side,  often  with  a  border  of 
fringe,  and  decorated  with  rich  em- 
broidery, hanging  down  to  the  feet, 
and  confined  in  the  middle  by  a 
broad  girdle.  It  precisely  resembled 
the  djubeh  of  the  Eastern  people  in  the  present  day. 
The  common  people  and  soldiers  used  a  shorter  tunic, 
reaching  only  to  the  knees,  so  as  to  allow  them  to  walk 
freely.  The  king,  in  his  robes  of  ceremony,  wore  over 
all  a  sort  of  long  mantle  or  chasuble,  thrown  obliquely 
over  one  shoulder  and  splendidly  ornamented.  This  is 
also  seen  on  the  monuments  on  the  figures  of  the  gods, 
A  high  conical  tiara  surmounted  his  head,  and  in  his 
hand  he  held  a  long  sceptre  or  staff,  nearly  the  height  of 
a  man.    The  Insio-nia  of  his  rank  were  the  same  as  those 

o 

of  Asiatic  monarchs  in  the  present  day,  the  parasol  and 
large  feathered  fly-flaps  carried  behind  him  by  slaves. 


ROBED  STATUE. 


126 


EJiROH'S   CHAINS. 


The  Assyrians  wore  their  hair  long  and  curled  at  the 
end,  the  beard  square  and  with  rows  of  curls.  They 
were  fond  of  wearing  great  quantities  of  jewelry,  large 
ear-rings,  finger-rings  and  bracelets.  Some  of  the  sol- 
diers wore  a  cuirass  of  small  pieces  of  metal  protecting 
the  body,  and  allowing  the  tunic  to  appear  beneath  it 
These  were  probably  light  infantry.  Others  wore  long 
coats  of  mail  reaching  to  the  feet,  with  a  conical  helmet 
to  which  was  attached  a  sort  of  veil  of  chain  mail,  falling 
down  on  the  neck,  and  brought  round  to  protect  the 
chin,  such  as  are  now  worn  by  the  Circassians. 

THE    RELIGION    OF    ASSYRIA. 

The  religion  of  Assyria  and  Babylonia  was,  in  its  es- 
sential principles  and  in  the  general  spirit  of  its  concep- 
tions, of  the  same  character  of  the  religion  of  Egypt,  and 
in  general  as  all  pagan  religions.  When  we  penetrate 
beneath  the  surface  which  gross  Polytheism  has  acquired 
from  popular  superstition,  and  revert  to  its  original  and 
higher  conceptions,  we  shall  find  the  whole  based  on  the 
idea  of  the  unity  of  the  Deity,  the  last  relic  of  the  primi- 
tive revelation,  disfigured  indeed  and  all  but  lost  in  the 
monstrous  ideas  of  Pantheism  ;  confounding  the  crea- 
ture with  the  Creator;  and  transforming  the  Deity  into  a 
god-world,  whose  manifestations  are  to  be  found  in  all 
the  phenomena  of  nature.  Beneath  this  supreme  and 
sole  God,  this  great  All,  in  whom  all  things  are  lost  and 
absorbed,  are  ranked  in  an  order  of  emanation  corre- 
sporuJing  to  their  importance,  a  whole  race  of  secondary 
deities  who  are  emanations  from  His  ver)^  substance,  who 
are  mere  personifications  of  His  attributes  and  manifes- 
tations. The  differences  between  the  various  pagan  re- 
ligions is  chiefly  marked  by  the  differences  between  these 
secondary  divine  beings. 


WORSHIP   OF    THE    CHALDEANS. 


127 


Thus,  as  we  have  already  seen,  the  imagination  of  the 
Egyptians  had  been  especially  struck  by  the  various 
stages  of  the  daily  and  yearly  course  of  the  sun.  In  this 
they  saw  the  most  imposing  manifestations  of  the  Deity, 
that  which  best  revealed  the  laws  of  the  government  of 
the  world.  In  this  they  sought  their  divine  personifica- 
tion. The  Chaldaeo-Assyrians,  especially  devoted  to  as- 
tronomy, saw  in  the  Astral,  and  especially  in  the  planetary 
system,  a  manifestation  of  the  divine  being.  They  con- 
sidered the  stars  as  His  true  external  manifestation,  and 
in  their  religious  system  made  them  the  visible  evi- 
dence of  the  subordinate  divine  emanations  from  the 
substance  of  the  infinite  being,  whom  they  identified  with 
the  world,  his  work. 

THE    SUPREME    GOD,    ILU. 

The  supreme  god,  the  first  and  sole  principle  from 
whom  all  other  deities  were  derived,  was  Ilu,  whose  name 
signifies  God  par  excellence.  Their  idea  of  him  was  too 
comprehensive,  too  vast,  to  have  any  determined  exter- 
nal form,  or  consequently  to  receive  in  general  the 
adoration  of  the  people;  and  from  this  point  of  view 
there  is  a  certain  analogy  between  Ilu  and  the  Chronos 
of  the  Greeks,  with  whom  he  was  compared  by  the  latter. 
In  Chaldsea  it  does  not  seem  that  any  temple  was  ever 
specially  dedicated  to  him;  but  at  Nineveh  and  generally 
throughout  Assyria,  he  seems  to  have  received  the  pecu- 
liarly national  name  of  Asshur  (whence  was  derived  the 
name  of  the  country.  Mat  Asshur),  and  this  itself  seems 
related  to  the  Arian  name  of  the  deity  Asicra.  With  this 
title  he  was  great  god  of  the  land,  the  especial  protector 
of  the  Assyrians,  he  who  gave  victory  to  their  arms. 
The  inscriptions  designate  him  as  "  Master  or  Chief  of 
the  Gods."  He  it  is,  perhaps,  who  is  to  be  recognized  in 
8 


J2S  ERROR'S   CHAINS. 

the  figure  occasionally  found  on  the  Assyrian  monuments 
(but  probably  adopted  in  later  times  by  the  Persians  to 
represent  their  Ormuzd),  representing  a  human  bust, 
wearing  the  royal  tiara  in  the  middle  of  a  circle  borne  by 
two  large  eagle  wings,  and  with  an  eagle's  tail. 

THE    ASSYRIAN    TRIAD. 

Below  Ilu,  the  universal  and  mysterious  source  of  all, 
was  placed  a  triad,  composed  of  his  three  first  external 
and  visible  manifestations,  and  occupying  the  summit  of 
the  hierarchy  of  gods  in  popular  worship.  Anu,  the 
Oannes  of  the  Greek  writers,  was  the  lord  of  darkness ; 
Bel,  the  demiurgus,  the  organizer  of  the  world;  Ao, 
called  also  Bin,  that  is,  the  divine  "Son  '' par  excellence^ 
the  divine  light,  the  intelligence  penetrating,  directing 
and  vivifying  the  universe.  These  three  divine  persons 
esteemed  as  equal  in  power  and  con-substantial,  were 
not  held  as  of  the  same  degree  of  emanation,  but  were 
regarded  as  having,  on  the  contrary,  issued  the  one  from 
the  other — Ao  from  Oannes,  and  Bel  from  Ao.  Oannes, 
the  "  Lord  of  the  Lower  World,  the  Lord  of  Darkness," 
was  represented  on  the  monuments  under  the  strange 
fip-ure  of  a  man  with  an  eag^le's  tail,  and  for  his  head- 
dress  an  enormous  fish,  whose  open  mouth  rises  over  his 
head,  while  the  body  covers  his  shoulders.  It  is  under 
this  form  that,  Berosus  tells  us,  according  to  Babylonian 
tradition,  he  floated  on  the  surface  of  the  waters  of 
Chaos.  Bel,  the  "  Father  of  the  Gods,"  was  usually  re~ 
presented  under  an  entirely  human  form,  attired  as  a 
king,  wearing  a  tiara  with  bull's  horns,  the  symbol  of 
power.  But  this  god  took  many  other  secondary  forms, 
the  most  important  being  Bel  Dagon,  a  human  bust 
springing  from  the  body  of  a  fish.  We  do  not  know 
exactly  the  typical  figure  of  Ao  or  Bin,  "  the  intelligent 


WORSHIP    OF   THE    CHALDEANS. 


129 


guide,  the  Lord  of 
the  visible  world,  the 
Lord  of  knowledge, 
of  glory  and  light." 
The  serpent  seems 
to  have  been  his  prin- 
cipal symbol ;  though 
some  other  sculp- 
tured figures  seem  to 
be  intended  to  repre- 
sent Bin. 

A  second  triad  is 
produced  with  per- 
sonao^es  no  lono^er 
vague  and  indeter- 
minate in  character, 
like  those  of  the  first, 
but  with  a  clearly- 
defined  siderial  as- 
pect, each  represent- 
inof  a  known  celestial 
body,  and  especially 
those  in  which  the 
C  h  al  d  ae  o- Assy  rians 
saw  the  most  striking 
external  manifesta- 
tions of  the  deity; 
these  were  Shamash, 
the  sun;  Sin,  the 
moon  god ;  and  a  new 
form  of  Ao  or  Bin,  in- 
ferior to  the  first,  and  representing  him  as  god  of  the 
atmosphere  or  firmament.  Thus  did  they  industriously 
multiply  deities  and  representations  of  them. 


STATUE  OF  CANNES,  THE  KING. 


n,o 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


THE    GODS    OF    THE    PLANETS. 

Then  come  the  gods  of  the  five  planets :  Adar  (Sat- 
urn), Merodach  (Jupiter),  Nergal  (Mars),  Ishtar  (Venus), 
and  Nebo  (Mercury).  The  worship  of  Merodach,  though 
not  much  cultivated  at  Nineveh,  was  of  primary  import- 
ance at  Babylon,  where  he  was  regarded  as  one  of  the 
principal  gods.  He  was  a  secondary  form,  another  mani- 
festation of  Bel  in  an  inferior  rank  in  the  hierarchy;  he 
was  called  "  the  ancient  one  of  the  gods,  the  supreme 
judge,  the  master  of  the  horoscope;"  he  was  represented 
as  a  man,  erect  and  walking,  and  with  a  naked  sword  in 
his  hand.  Adar,  "  the  fire,"  called  also  Samdan,  "  the 
powerful,"  although  his  planet  had  been  called  Saturn  by 
the  Greeks,  was  apparently  the  Assyrian  Hercules.  His 
appellations  are,  "the  terrible,  the  lord  of  warriors,  the 
strong  one,  the  destroyer  of  his  enemies,  he  who  reduces 
the  disobedient,  the  exterminator  of  rebels,"  and  in  other 
cases,  "the  Son  of  the  Zodiac."  On  some 
monuments  he  is  represented  in  company 
with  Merodach.  In  the  same  manner,  he 
is  represented  in  the  magnificent  colossal 
figures  in  the  Museum  of  the  Louvre,  and 
of  the  British  Museum,  where  he  Is  seen 
as  a  god  of  terrible  aspect,  strangling  in 
his  arms  a  lion  that  appears  quite  small  in 
comparison  with  him.  With  the  surname 
of  Malik  (king),  Adar  Malik  is  mentioned 
in  the  Bible  with  "Cannes  the  king"  (Anu 
Malik)  (2  Kings,  xvii.,  31,)  as  the  principal 
god  of  Sippara,  where  the  inhabitants 
"burnt  their  children  in  the  fire"  in  honor  of  these  ex- 
alted ones.  In  general  these  planetary  gods  are  only  fire, 
secondary  manifestations  of  the  higher  order.     Such  is 


ADAR  STRAN- 
GLING THE  LION. 


WORSHIP    OF   THE    CHALDEANS.  j^j 

the  connection  between  Nebo  and  Ao.  Nebo  also  is  dis- 
tinguished as  the  "  supreme  intelligence ;"  he  is  the  god 
of  prophetic  inspiration  and  of  eloquence,  and  also  the 
special  guardian  of  royal  prerogative,  the  protector  of 
kings  and  the  prototype  whom  they  reproduce  on  earth. 
Like  Bel,  he  has  on  the  monuments  an  entirely  human 
form  with  the  tiara,  and  the  dress  of  a  king;  three  pairs 
of  horns,  ranged  one  above  the  other,  decorate  his  tiara, 
and  four  large  wings  are  often  attached  to  his  shoulders  ; 
the  sceptre  also  is  one  of  his  common  attributes. 

THE    GREAT    GODDESS    ISHTAR. 

Ishtar  reproduces  among  the  planetary  gods  Anat  and 
Bilit,  the  great  goddess  of  nature,  the  mother  of  all  the 
gods  and  of  all  beings ;  she  is  their  active  and  martial 
form,  for  she  is  called  "the  Goddess  of  Battles,  the  Queen 
of  Victories,  she  who  leads  armies  to  the  fight  and  is  the 
judge  of  warlike  exploits ;"  but  she  has  a  double  form 
uniting  two  characters,  one  fierce  and  sanguinary,  the 
other  voluptuous,  for  under  the  names  of  Zarpanit  and 
Nana  she  presides  over  the  reproduction  of  beings,  and 
over  sensual  pleasures ;  she  is  in  this  last  character 
always  represented  naked,  always  full  face  and  with  the 
two  hands  on  the  chest.  Moreover  two  Ishtars  were 
always  distinguished,  that  of  Arbela  (called  also  Arbail), 
and  that  of  Nineveh,  who  presided  over  the  two  fortnights 
of  the  month.  The  plural  name  of  this  double  Ishtar, 
Ishtaroth,  was  the  origin  of  the  Phoenician  Ashtaroth. 
Nergal,  whose  image  is  very  uncommon,  stands  on 
the  legs  of  a  cock,  and  carries  a  sword  in  his  hand. 
The  application  of  the  name  of  Mars  to  his  star  was 
quite  natural,  for  his  titles  in  the  inscriptions  are  "the 
great  hero,  the  king  of  fight,  the  master  of  battles, 
champion  of  the  gods,"  and  also  "god  of  the  chase." 


J  ^2  ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


THE    GENII    OF    ASSYRIA. 


Such  were  the  great  gods  of  Nineveh  and  Babylon. 
Below  them  popular  superstition  believed  in  an  immense 
number  of  personifications  of  inferior  order,  of  lesser 
gods,  or  rather  genii,  whom  it  would  be  waste  of  time  to 
enumerate.  We  must,  however,  mention  some  person- 
ages who  are  found  on  the  monuments  occupying  an 
important  position  in  the  Chaldseo-Assyrian  pantheon, 
and  who  were  evidently  other  forms  of  the  gods  already 
named,  but  whose  position  has  not  as  yet  been  precisely 
determined.  Such  is  Nisroch,  called  also  Shalman,  who 
*' presides  over  the  course  of  human  destiny,"  and  who  is 
also  the  protector  of  marriages ;  this  is  the  god  with  an 
eao-le's  head  and  larof-e  wino^s,  whose  imao^e  is  so  common 
on  the  sculptures  of  the  Assyrian  palaces.  It  was  in  the 
temple  of  this  god  at  Nineveh,  that  Sennacherib  was  as- 
sassinated by  his  sons.  Possibly  we  ought  to  consider 
this  orod  as  another  form  of  Oannes. 

The  great  gods  are  often  all  invoked  one  after  the 
other  at  the  beginning  of  the  solemn  inscriptions  of  the 
kings  of  Assyria.  Sargon  has  given  the  names  of  eight 
of  them  on  the  gates  of  the  city  he  founded.  "Shamash 
has  conferred  on  me  all  I  possess,"  says  he  in  an  inscrip- 
tion. "  Bin  gave  me  good  fortune ;  I  have  named  the  great 
eastern  orates  after  Shamash  and  Bin.  Bel  Daeon  laid 
the  foundation  of  my  city,  Bilit  Taauth  grinds  like  paint 
the  elements  of  the  world ;  I  have  named  the  great 
southern  sfates  after  Bel  Daofon  and  Bilit  Taauth.  Oannes 
prospers  the  work  of  my  hand,  Ishtar  leads  armies  to 
battle;  I  have  called  the  great  western  gates  after 
Oannes  and  Ishtar.  Nisroch  Shalman  presides  over 
marriages,  the  mistress  of  the  gods  presides  over  births ; 
I  have  dedicated  the  great  northern  gates  to  Nisroch 


WORSHIP    OF   THE    CHALDEANS. 


135 


THE  GREAT  HUMAN-HEADED  EAGLE-WINGED  ASSYRIAN  BULL. 

and  Bilit."  Inscriptions  of  such  and  like  general  purport 
were  sculptured  on  the  palace  walls  of  many  of  the 
kings  and  also  upon  the  bodies  of  the  winged  bulls. 


WORSHIP    OF   THE    GODS    AT   BABYLON. 

The  deity  who  was  the  principal  object  of  worship  at 
Babylon  and  at  Borsippa  was  Bel  Merodach,  with  his 
wife,  Bilit  or  Myletta,  the  great  nature-goddess,  who 
assumed  the  two  opposite  forms  of  Taauth  and  Zarpanit, 
the  one  austere,  the  other  voluptuous,  like  the  two  forms 
of  the  Venus  of  classical  mythology.  Bilit  had  a  mag- 
nificent temple  in  the  centre  of  Babylon,  where  most 
infamous  customs  werd"  practiced.  At  Ur,  the  god  of  the 
city,  from  the  remote  times  of  Ur-Hammu,  was  Sin,  the 


136 


ERR  OH' S   CHAINS. 


moon-god;  at  Sippara  and  Larsam,  Shamash,  the  sun; 
at  Erech  and  Nipur,  Billt-Taauth,  "Goddess  of  the  Fir- 
mament." The  most  shameful  rites  were  connected  with 
the  worship  of  Nana  or  Zarpanit,  at  Cutha. 

The  materiaHstic  and  profoundly  immoral  worship  at 
Babylon,  naturally  excited  extreme  horror  in  the  wor- 
shipers of  Jehovah,  and  provoked  their  vehement  invec- 
tives against  the  idols  of  Chaldaea.  We  quote  the  elo- 
quent words  of  Baruch,  that  portray  so  vividly  an  always 
materialistic,  and  often  obscene  worship  that  was,  in  fact, 
no  more  than  a  constant  employment  of  populai*  super- 
stition for  the  profit  of  the  priests. 

"  Now  ye  shall  see  in  Babylon  gods  of  silver,  and  of 
gold,  and  of  wood,  borne  upon  shoulders,  which  cause 
the  nations  to  fear.  .  .  .  And  taking  gold,  as  it  were, 
for  a  virgin  that  loveth  to  go  gay,  they  make  crowns  for 
the  heads  of  their  gods.  Sometimes  also  the  priests 
convey  from  their  gods  gold  and  silver,  and  bestow  it 
upon  themselves.  Yea,  they  will  give  thereof  to  the 
common  harlots,  and  deck  them  as  men  with  garments, 
being  gods  of  silver,  and  gods  of  gold  and  wood.  .  .  . 
And  he  that  cannot  put  to  death  one  that  offendeth  him 
holdeth  a  sceptre  (Nebo),  as  though  he  were  a  judge  of 
the  country.  He  (Bel  Merodach)  hath  also  in  his  right 
hand  a  dagger  and  an  axe,  but  cannot  deliver  himself 
from  war  and  thieves.  .  .  .  They  light  them  candles, 
yea,  more  than  for  themselves,  whereof  they  cannot  see 
one.  They  are  as  one  of  the  beams  of  the  temple,  yet 
they  say  their  hearts  are  gnawed  upon  by  things  creep- 
ing out  of  the  earth ;  and  when  they  eat  them  and  their 
clothes  they  feel  it  not.  .  .  .  As  for  the  things  that 
are  sacrificed  unto  them,  their  priests  sell  and  abuse; 
in  like  manner  their  wives  lay  up  part  thereof  in  salt ; 
but  unto  the  poor  and  impotent  they  give  nothing  of  it. 


WORSHIP   OF   THE    CHALDEANS. 


"^Zl 


.  .  .  The  priests  also  take  off  their  garments  and 
clothe  their  wives  and  children.  .  .  .  The  women 
also  with  cords  about  them  sitting  in  the  way  burn  bran 
for  perfume." 

The  most  remarkable  building  in  Babylon  was  the 
temple  of  Bel.  It  was  pyramidal  in  shape,  having  eight 
stages.  The  lowest  stage  was  200  yards  square.  On 
the  summit  a  golden  statue  of  Bel,  40  feet  high,  stood 
in  a  shrine.  There  were  also  two  other  golden  statues 
and  a  golden  table  in  this  shrine.  At  the  bottom  of  the 
pyramid-temple  stood  a  chapel  with  a  table  and  two 
images  of  gold  within  it.  Two  altars  stood  outside  of 
this  chapel.  A  similar  temple  was  at  Borsippa  near 
Babylon.  It  had  seven  stages,  each  decorated  in  one  of 
the  seven  primary  colors.  Like  all  Chaldean  temples, 
and  like  the  Great  Pyramid  of  Egypt,  the  four  corners  of 
this  exactly  corresponded  with  the  four  cardinal  points  of 
the  compass. 


138 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

IDOLATRY    AMONG   THE    JEWS. 

For  those  the  race  of  Israel  oft  forsook 
Their  living  strength,  and  unfrequented  left 
His  righteous  altar,  bowing  lowly  down 
To  bestial  gods ;  for  which  their  heads  as  low 
Bowed  down  in  battle,  sunk  before  the  spear 
Of  despicable  foes,  with  these  in  troop 
Came  Astoreth,  whom  the  Phoenicians  call'd 
Astrate,  queen  of  Heav'n,  with  crescent  horns  5 
To  whose  bright  image  nightly  by  the  moon 
Sidonian  virgins  paid  their  vows  and  songs ; 
In  Sion  also  not  unsung. — Milton. 

THE  Bible  utterly  condemns  all  idol-worship.  The 
people  of  Israel  from  their  neighbors  were  con- 
stantly learning  of  idols  and  were  frequently  led 
away  from  the  worship  of  Jehovah  to  that  of  false  gods. 
It  will  be  profitable  for  us  just  here  to  turn  aside  and  con- 
sider these  gods.  The  people  of  Israel  were  descended 
from  an  idolatrous  race.  Joshua  wrote  (Chap,  xxiv.,  2), 
"Your  fathers  dwelt  on  the  other  side  of  the  flood"  (that 
is,  the  River  Euphrates,)  "and  they  served  other  gods." 
Rachel,  when  she  left  her  father's  home  with  Jacob,  stole 
her  father's  "  teraphim."  These  were  images  connected 
with  magical  rites  and  they  were  consulted  as  oracles  in 
later  days.  Laban  says :  "  I  have  augured,  or  foretold  by 
observing  signs."  The  teraphim  were  used  in  Israel 
even  in  Ezekiel's  time.  Laban  calls  his  teraphim  his 
gods.     They  were  generally  images  with  a  man's  head 


IDOLATRY  AMONG  THE  JEWS.  j -q 

and  with  bodies  of  various  shapes,  though  they  were  quite 
small,  being  often  only  about  two  or  three  inches  high. 

THE    PLAGUES   AND    EGYPTIAN    IDOLATRY. 

The  people  of  Israel  strangely  sought  to  blend  the 
worship  of  the  true  God  and  of  idols,  they  "feared 
Jehovah  and  served  strange  gods."  They  worshiped 
in  turn  very  nearly  all  the  gods  of  the  Canaanites,  Syri- 
ans, Assyrians  and  many  of  those  of  the  Egyptians. 
They  were  accustomed  to  wear  amulets  and  charms, 
which  were  supposed  to  place  them  under  the  protection 
of  the  idol  gods.  (See  Genesis  xxxv.,  4.)  In  Egypt  the 
people  of  Israel  were  more  thoroughly  tainted  with  false 
gods,  and  it  was  a  long  while  before  they  were  cleansed 
of  the  taint.  To  the  gods  of  Egypt  Moses  flung  down 
the  gauntlet  of  defiance.  He  dared  their  wTath  and 
defied  their  anger.  In  the  punishments  which  God  sent 
upon  Pharaoh  and  his  people  for  their  refusal  to  let 
the  children  of  Israel  go,  the  plagues  of  Egypt,  as  we 
call  them,  smote  their  most  sacred  symbols.  At  the  com- 
mand of  Moses,  Aaron  waved  his  rod  over  the  Nile  and 
its  waters  were  turned  to  blood  and  its  fishes  died.  The 
Nile  was  an  object  of  worship  to  the  Egyptians,  as  were 
the  crocodiles  and  some  of  the  fish 
livinor  in  its  waters.  The  froo-s,  in  the 
next  plague,  were  among  the  sacred 
animals.  It  was  a  part  of  the  Egyp- 
tian religion  that  the  people  and  sculptured  locust. 
especially  the  priests,  should  keep  themselves  scrupu- 
lously clean,  and  the  plague  of  the  lice  was  a  terrible 
punishment.  The  great  Egyptian  beetle,  the  scara- 
bseus,  was  sculptured  on  all  their  monuments  and  was 
an  object  of  worship.  The  plague  of  flies  or  beetles  was 
another  attack   upon   their  religion.     Selected    animals 


I  .Q  ERROR'S   CHAINS. 

among  the  cattle  were  worshiped.  The  murrain  of  beasts 
fell  upon  them,  their  being  gods  as  the  Egyptians  be- 
lieved them  to  be,  could  not  avert  the  plague.  The 
plague  of  boils  and  blains  was  another  assault  upon  the 
purity  of  their  persons  required  by  their  religion.  The 
other  plagues  showed  most  effectually  the  utter  inability 
of  the  Egyptian  gods  to  help  their  worshipers,  and  that 
Jehovah,  the  God  of  Israel,  was  the  one  Supreme  Being. 

THE    GOLDEN    CALF. 

With  the  remembrance  of  God's  victory  over  the  idol- 
worship  of  Egypt  still  fresh  in  their  minds,  the  Israelites 
soon  fell  into  idolatrous  ways.  Their  leader,  Moses,  was 
absent  in  the  mountain  with  God.  He  had  gone  thither 
to  receive  the  commands  of  God,  the  first  of  which  was 
an  unqualified  condemnation  of  all  idolatry.  As  if  to 
show  the  necessity  of  this  command,  even  while  Moses 
was  so  engaged,  the  people  were  demanding  of  Aaron 
that  he  should  make  them  an  idol.  The  commandments 
were  given  to  warn  Israel  against  sin.  They  were  as  a 
fence  to  keep  them  from  falling  into  the  mouth  of  hell. 
The  Israelites  recalled  the  visible  objects  of  worship  to 
which  they  had  been  accustomed  in  Egypt,  and  besought 
Aaron  to  make  them  gods.  Weakly  yielding  to  their 
urgent  request,  Aaron  asks  for  their  golden  ear-rings, 
hoping,  it  may  be,  that  they  would  not  be  willing  to  make 
this  sacrifice.  With  the  s^old  thus  furnished  he  cast  a 
"molten  calf,"  the  image  of  the  Babylonish  winged  bull 
Cherub.  This  he  placed  before  the  Israelites  as  the 
image  of  the  God  who  had  led  them  out  of  Egypt.  He 
then  built  an  altar  before  the  idol.  In  the  name  of 
Jehovah,  he  proclaimed  a  festival.  God  is  for  this  cause 
exceedingly  angry,  but  in  answer  to  Moses'  prayer  He 
finally  spares  the  people. 


IDOLATRY  AMONG  THE  JEWS. 


141 


As  Moses  comes  nearer  to  the  camp  of  Israel,  he  hears 
the  sound  of  their  revelry,  and  when  his  eyes  behold  the 
disgraceful  scenes  attending  the  worship  of  the  golden 
calf,  in  his  anger  he  throws  the  stone  tablets  containing 
the  commandments  to  the  ground.  He  then  causes  the 
image  to  be  ground  into  powder  and  strewn  upon  the 
water  which  the  people  must  needs  drink.  Then  came 
the  awful  slaughter  of 
those  who  were  not 
loyal  to  Jehovah.  Just 
how  far  Israel  had 
looked  upon  the  gol- 
den calf  as  a  mere 
symbol  of  Jehovah,  it 
is  impossible  to  say, 
but  God  condemns 
even  the  use  of  a  sym- 
bol, though  it  may  be 
truly  said  that  the 
symbol  is  not  itself 
worshiped. 

Durinof  the  rest  of 
their  wandering  in  the 
desert,  the  people  did 
not  again  commit  the 
sin  of  idolatry.  The 
terrible  punishments 
which  had  fallen  upon 
them  were  quite  sufficient  to  deter  them  from  it. 

Into  the  fearfully  wicked  worship  of  Baal-Peor,  the 
Israelites  were  led  by  the  daughters  of  Moab.  God  sent 
upon  them  an  awful  punishment  for  this  sin  also.  During 
the  lives  of  Joshua  and  the  elders  they  remained  true  to 
their  allegiance  to  Jehovah,  but  the  following  generation 


GODDESS  ASHTORETH,  ISHTAR. 


142 


ERROR'S   CHALVS. 


remembered  not  the  awful  penalties  God  visited  on 
idolatry,  and  they  were  caught  in  the  snare  again. 

BAAL-WORSHIP. 

Baal  was  the  supreme  male  divinity  of  the  Phoenician 
and  Canaanltish  nations.  Ashtoreth  was  their  female 
divinity.  The  name  Baal  means  lord.  He  was  the  sun- 
god.  The  name  is  gen- 
erally used  in  connection 
with  other  names,  as  Baal- 
Gad,  that  is  Baal  the  For- 
tune-brlnger;  Baal-Berith 
or  Covenant-making  Baal; 
Baal-Zebub,  the  Fly-god. 
The  people  of  Israel  wor- 
shiped Baal  up  to  the  time 
of  Samuel,  at  whose  re- 
buke they  forsook  this 
iniquity  for  nearly  a  hun- 
dred years.  The  practice 
was  introduced  ao-ain  in 
the  time  of  Solomon,  and 
it  continued  to  the  days  of 
the  captivity. 

During  the  life  of  all  the 
judges,    Israel    worshiped 

Baal.     As  soon  as  Gideon 
PHCENiciAN  GODDESS  ASTARTE.       ^^3    ^^^^^    ^^^    Israelites, 

who  had  during  his  lifetime  been  less  devout  in  this 
direction,  returned  to  it  again  with  energy.  As  if  in 
mockery  of  the  covenant  made  with  Jehovah,  they  chose 
to  worship  Baal-Berith,  "  Baal  of  the  Covenant."  We 
are  told  that  this  Baal's  temple  was  a  fortress,  and  that 
his  treasury  was  filled  with  the  silver  brought  in  great 


IDOLATRY  AMONG  THE  JEWS. 


^\Z 


abundance  by  his  worshipers.  Before  the  story  of  Sam- 
son is  told  the  striking  words  are  used,  "  the  children  of 
Israel  did  evil  again  in  the  eyes  of  Jehohah,  and  Jehovah 
gave  them  again  into  the  hands  of  the  Philistines." 
Idolatry  was  their  national  sin.  From  Judges  xvii.  and 
xviii.,  we  see  that  often  the  Israelites  tried  to  carry  on 
both  the  worship  of  Jehovah  and  of  idols,  like  the  Saxon 
king  who  is  said  to  have  had  both  an  altar  to  Christ  and 
an  altar  to  the  devils 
in  his  chapel-cave. 
Strange  to  say,  Mo- 
ses' own  son,  Jona- 
than, was  the  priest 
in  the  idol-temple  of 
the  gods  of  the  tribe 
of  Dan.  These  idols 


THE  AMMONITE  FIRE-GOD  MOLOCH. 


were  destroyed  by 
the  Philistines.  It 
was  the  custom  of 
heathen  nations  to 
carry  their  idols  be- 
fore them  into  bat- 
tle. Idolatry  was  not 
due  to  popularity 
alone,  it  was  not  followed  merely  as  a  fashion,  for  it  was 
often  carried  on  secretly.  (Isaiah  Ivii.,  8,  and  Hosea  ix.,  1,2.) 
Under  Samuel  idolatry  was  formally  renounced  by  the 
Israelites.  But  Solomon's  foreion  wives  broug-ht  with 
them  the  gods  of  their  own  nations.  So  the  gods  of 
Ammon,  Moab  and  Sidon  were  openly  worshiped ;  three 
of  the  summits  of  Olivet  were  covered  with  the  altars  of 
Ashtoreth,  Chemosh  and  Moloch,  the  fire-god.  The  of- 
fering of  human  sacrifice  was  a  part  of  the  worship  of 
Moloch.     The  ceremony  is  supposed  to  have  been  as 


1^4  EHROR'S  CHAINS. 

follows :  The  priest  stood  on  a  platform  in  front  of  the 
idol,  and  while  the  people  bowed  down  and  murmured 
their  prayers,  he  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  idol  the  sacri- 
fice, frequently  a  little  babe.  By  some  cruel  machinery 
the  idol's  hands  came  together  crushing  the  child,  while 
the  musicians  beat  their  drums  to  drown  its  cries. 

Rehoboam  and  Jeroboam  both  led  Israel  more  deeply 
into  idolatry.  Jeroboam  erected  golden  calves,  the  statues 
of  the  Egyptian  god  Apis,  at  Bethel  and  at  Dan.  To 
their  use  temples  were  devoted  and  services,  copied  prob- 
ably from  the  Mosaic  ritual,  were  held.  Incense  and 
sacrifice  was  offered  before  them.  Asa,  and  Jehosophat 
after  him,  removed  all  the  relics  of  idolatry. 

With  Ahab's  coming  to  the  throne,  Baal's  worship  was 
re-established.  This  was  done  at  the  request  of  Jezebel, 
the  Sidonian  princess.  Ahab  did  "more  to  provoke 
Jehovah,  God  of  Israel,  to  anger  than  all  the  kings  of 
Israel  before  him."  From  this  time  Baal-worship  is  inter- 
woven with  all  the  life  of  Israel.  The  idolatrous  priests 
became  more  and  more  numerous  and  important,  being 
patronized  by  the  court  and  fed  at  the  royal  table.  Finally 
came  the  grand  trial  scene.  As  in  Egypt  long  before,  God 
was  once  more  about  to  vindicate  His  supremacy.  On 
Mount  Carmel  the  trial  took  place. 

"  By  scores,  by  hundreds,  chanting  to  their  god, 
Clad  in  white  stoles  with  frontlets  of  red  gold, 
Baal's  prophets  marched. 

The  crowd  through  all  its  myriad  ranks  was  still, 
With  wide,  expectant  eyes  the  king  in  front. 
Forth  stepped  Elijah;  melancholy  fire 
Burned  in  his  swarthy-glowing  eye;  he  looked 
In  angry  love,  impatient,  scornful  grief. 
Wonder  and  pity,  on  the  multitude. 
'How  long,'  he  cried,  with  voice  like  autumn  blast, 
*  How  long,  O  Israel,  halt  ye  between  two  ? 


IDOLATRY  AMONG  THE  JEWS 


H5 


If  Jah  be  God,  then  serve  ye  Him:   if  Baal, 

Then  Baal.'     The  great  crowd  stretched  ^o  him,  and  rocked 

In  mighty  agitation  to  and  fro. 

The  gray  crags  caught  his  words,  and  echoed  them 

To  Carmel's  crest;  it  threv/  them  to  the  peak. 

Snow-crowned,  of  Lebanon,  which  tossed  them  far 

Along  the  surges  of  the  boundless  sea. 

He  spake  again :   '  The  God  that  answereth 

By  fire,  let  Him  be  God.'     As  when  a- wave, 

That  rears  itself,  a  wall  of  polished  glass, 

For  leagues  along  the  shore,  and  hangs  in  air, 

Falls  with  one  deafening  crash,  so  rose  the  shout 

Of  answering  acclamation  from  the  crowd. 

White-faced,  with  restless  lips  and  anxious  eyes, 

Baal's  prophets  heard,  their  hundreds  cowed  and  mute 

Before  one  man.     They  dared  not,  in  mere  shame. 

Decline  the  challenge.     While  the  dusky  gray 

Of  earliest  dawn  was  fluttering  into  blue 

They  built  their  altar;  and  when  first  the  sun 

Showed  his  clear  forehead  on  the  mountain -tops 

Their  chanted  prayer  to  the  appearing  Baal 

Rose  loud  and  shrill,  that  he  would  stretch  his  hand 

With  burning  torch  to  light  the  sacrifice 

And  prove  himself  a  god.     The  sun  rose  calm. 

Springing  as  if  in  joy  from  earth's  low  hills. 

Upon  the  vaulted  radiance  of  the  sky, 

All  unregarding  these  his  worshipers. 

The  hymns'  last  echoes  died  away ;  the  sun 

Burned  with  fierce  heat,  swift  striding  up  the  blue. 

Standing  on  that  scorched  hill,  we  felt  his  rays 

Prick  like  sharp  spear-points.     Then  I  heard  again 

Elijah's  voice.     I  had  been  watching  close 

Baal's  prophets,  but  I  now  looked  straight  at  him. 

A  fearful  gleam  was  in  his  eye,  a  mirth 

Too  stern,  methought,  for  man  of  woman  born; 

His  glance  was  vexing  those  robed  prophets  more 

Than  the  sun's  fire;  and  then  h^e  gave  it  words. 

'  Might  he  not  spare  one  little  spark,  but  one, 

Your  fine  god  riding  there,'  he  cried,  'to  light 

Your  sacrifice?     He  surely  has  enough; 

He's  burning  you,  if  not  your  offering. 


46 


ERROR'S   CI/ A  INS. 

Poor  souls,  I  pity  you!'     They  screamed  for  rage. 

'A  little  louder,'  smiled  he,  'for  perhaps 

In  Ills  warm  chariot  he  has  fallen  asleep.' 

They  leaped,  they  danced,  they  cut  themselves  with  knives, 

Till  the  blood  soaked  their  robes  and  poured  in  streams 

From  their  lanced  foreheads.     Then  he  laughed  aloud 

Great  shouts  of  laughter,  till  the  echoes  rang 

From  crag  to  crag  on  Carmel.     'Keep  it  up, 

Another  dance!'  he  shrieked;   'another  song! 

Leap  rather  higher;  never  grudge  some  drops 

Of  your  dear  blood,  so  precious  in  his  sight. 

Ye  know  he  is  a  god,  my  reverend  friends; 

How  often  have  ye  told  the  people  so? 

Your  pretty  speeches  and  the  miracles 

AVhich  ye  have  shown  them,  these  were  not,  of  course. 

Mere  lies  accursed.     He  is  a  god,  you  know. 

Louder,  I  say;  he's  old,  perhaps,  and  deaf; 

Out  with  your  beards — that  's  hopeful — crack  your  throats 

In  yelling  chorus.     Good,  good — ha,  ha,  ha!' 

He  rubbed  his  hands,  waved  wildly  in  the  air 

His  sheep-skin  mantle,  laughed  until  the  tears 

Streamed  down  his  face,  and  all  his  body  shook 

With  paroxysms  of  mirth  and  scorn.     Ah  me! 

That  laughter  sounded  fearfully,  and  seemed 

Not  human  in  its  fiery  ruthlessness. 

But  a=  he  stood  on  Carmel,  charred  and  gray, 

A  dead  land  lay  below,  his  native  land ; 

And  the  white  corpse-eyes  made  appeal  lo  him 

Against  its  murderers,  murderers  of  the  truth, 

Baal's  lying  prophets.     Furthermore,  I  think 

That  this  Elijah  is  not  to  be  judged 

Like  common  men.     The  little  rippling  lake, 

Safe  hid  among  the  hills,  can  never  know 

The  ocean's  tempests. — So  they  writhed  and  tore, 

In  ecstasies  of  grief  and  rage.     At  last 

They  hung  their  heads  in  mute  despair,  and  looked 

Upon  the  ground. 

Elijah  stood  erect. 
Terrible  earnestness  and  majesty 
Now  sitting  on  his  brow.     Twelve  stones  he  took — 
Mark,  twelve ;  this  challenge  in  the  full  name 


IDOLATRY  AMONG  THE  JEWS. 


147 


Of  Israel  as  it  stooped  to  David's  hand, 
And  with  one  mighty  throb  the  multitude 
Approved   Elijah's    pur- 
pose ; — twelve  smooth 

stones 
From  Carmel's  side,  and 

with  them  he  repaired 
Jehovah's  altar.      Then, 

at  his  command, 
We  filled  the  trench  with 

water,  till  it  ran 
Around  the  altar  like  a 

surging  stream, 
And  washed  the  stones, 

and  soaked  the  wood 

beneath 
The  sacrifice.     He  knelt 

upon  the  ridge, 
Against  the  golden,  placid 

sky  of  eve ; 
Brief,  simple,  clear,   his 

words  arose  to  heaven ; 
*  That  God  would  testify 

unto  Himself 
And  to  His  prophet,  and 

would  turn  the  hearts 
Of  His  own  people  back 

to  Him  again.' 
Scarce   had   he   spoken, 

when    a   broad   white 

glare, 
Scattering    earth'"*   light 

like    darkness    in    its 

path, 
Keener   than    lightning, 

calmer  than  the  dawn, 
The  sword  of  God  that 

proveth  Him  by  fire, 
That  proveth  Him  by  fire 

in  every  age, 


JEHOVATT'S  TRIUMPH  OVER  RA 


Stooped  from  above  and  touched  the  sacrifice. 


J  48 


£A-J!OA"S   CHAINS 

In  the  white  blaze  the  sun  grew  wan,  and  hung 

Like  a  pale  moon  upon  the  glimmering  sky. 

The  fierce  flame  licked  the  water  up,  the  wood 

Crackled  aloft,  the  very  altar  stones 

Glowed  fiery  red.     The  pillared  smoke  arose 

Through  the  hushed  air  in  towering  flawlessness. 

Then  spread  out  calm  and  broad,  like  God's  own  face 

Breathing  acceptance.     But  Baal's  prophets  shook 

In  utter  fear,  and  smote  upon  their  breasts. 

And  groveled,  moaning,  down  into  the  dust. 

Clear  broke  the  shout  from  that  great  multitude, 

'  Jah  is  the  God  !  Jehovah  He  is  God  ! 

'  Take  them,'  Elijah  said  ;   '  let  none  escape.' 

We  closed  around  Baal's  prophets,  thrust  them  down 

To  where  the  thirsty  Kishon  slowly  crawled. 

There  made  Elijah  bare  his  arm,  and  score 

By  score  he  slew  them.     From  the  heap  of  dead 

Oozed  a  broad  rill  of  blood,  that  swelled  the  wave 

Of  slumbrous  Kishon." 


This  was  a  severe  blow  to  this  form  of  idolatry  In 
Israel  for  the  time  being.  But  in  Judah,  Baal  continued 
to  be  worshiped.  Baal  and  other  gods  were  worshiped 
at  their  own  shrines.  Ahaz  built  altars  to  them  at  every 
corner  of  Jerusalem,  and  high-places  in  every  city  of 
Judah,  replacing  the  brazen  altar  of  burnt-offering  by  one 
made  after  the  idol  altar  at  Damascus, 

The  time  for  the  final  act  in  the  drama  of  abominations 
is  at  hand.  The  last  scene  opens  with  the  captivity  at 
Babylon.  One  would  expect  that  this  terrible  punish- 
ment would  immediately  cause  Israel  to  turn  to  the  true 
God,  but  it  did  not.  In  the  land  of  their  captivity  they 
took  to  them  foreign  wives  and  with  them  their  idols. 
But  there  were,  through  all  the  histor)^  of  the  Jews,  a 
faithful  few  who  adhered  to  the  pure  worship  of  one  God. 
Even  at  the  time  when  Baal-worship  was  most  prevalent 
there  were  7,000  in  Israel  who  had  not  bowed  the   knee 


IDOLATRY  AMONG  THE  JEWS.  j^^ 

to  Baal  (ist  Kings,  xxix.,  i8).  Excepting  these  few,  the 
chosen  people  were  almost  as  much  given  to  idolatry  as 
any  nation  around  them.  "Israel  for  many  days  had  no 
true  God,  and  no  teaching  priest,  and  no  law"  (2d  Chron- 
icles, XV.,  3). 

Foreign  wives,  foreign  allies,  and  the  unnatural  ten- 
dency to  desire  visible  objects  of  worship  caused  this 
prevalence  of  idolatry  in  the  very  nation  to  which  God 
made  especial  revelations  of  His  character  and  purposes. 
In  spite  of  God's  promises  and  threats,  commands  and 
entreaties,  punishments  and  pardon,  Israel  still  sinned. 

The  false  gods  mentioned  in  the  New  Testament  and 
some  of  those  referred  to  in  the  Old  Testament,  will  be 
spoken  of  further  on  in  describing  the  religions  to  which 
they  severally  belonged. 


I  r^O  ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE    GODS    OF    GREECE. 

There,  where  now,  as  we're  by  sages  told, 

Whirls  on  high  a  soulless  fiery  ball, 
Helios  guided  then  his  car  of  gold. 

In  his  silent  majesty  o'er  all. 
Oreads  then  these  heights  around  us  filled. 

Then  a  dryad  dwelt  in  yonder  tree, 
From  the  urn  of  loving  naiads  rilled 

Silver  streamlets  foamingly. 

iRlEDRiCH   VON    SCHILLER. 

THE  religious  system  of  the  Greeks  is  the  em- 
bodiment of  beauty.  No  other  worship  that  has 
ever  existed  so  encou racked  the  taste  for  art  as 
this.  Its  literature,  its  mythological  stories,  its  idols  and  its 
temples  still  control  and,  to  a  great  extent,  shape  the  art 
ideas  of  the  world.  Its  devotees  have  above  all  other 
people  possessed  a  perception  of  beauty  of  form  and  a 
fondness  for  representing  it. 

The  people  of  Greece  appear  to  have  originally  come 
from  the  north-western  part  of  Asia  Minor.  They  were 
called  the  Hellenes.  The  worship  which  they  brought 
from  Asia  was  the  worship  of  the  "  Heaven-Father,"  the 
unseen  one  who  dwells  in  ether,  whose  temple  is  the  sky, 
and  whose  altar  is  properly  placed  upon  the  mountain- 
top.  The  Hindus  called  the  same  being  Dyaus-pitar; 
the  Romans,  Diovis-pater  or  Jupiter ;  the  Greeks,  Zeus- 
pater.  One  can  readily  see  the  resemblance  between 
these  names,  and  the  evidence  they  bear  to  the  fact  that 


THE  GODS  OF  GREECE. 


151 


these  nations  all  came  originally  from  one  common  stock. 
As  the  prim^al  Greek  race  separated  into  various  parts 
of  Greece  different  forms  began  to  arise.  As  sailors 
from  other  lands  arrived  on  their  shores,  they  brought 
their  own  gods  with  them,  and  thus  many  new  gods  were 
introduced  into  Greece. 

The  lively  imagination  of  the  Greeks  and  the  out-doorl 
life  of  their  primitive  state  produced  a  number  of  tales 
and  legends  about  the  gods.  Some  of  these  were  based 
on  the  tales  with  which  their  forefathers  were  familiar  in 
their  early  home  in  Asia.  The  people  lived  in  separate 
villages.  Wandering  minstrels  and  merchants  carried 
these  tales  of  gods  and  heroes  from  village  to  village. 
Poets  then  caught  them  up  and  adorned  them  with  the 
touches  of  a  livelier  fancy.  Thus  soon  a  rich  and  luxuri- 
ant system  of  legendary  lore  was  in  possession  of  the 
whole  people. 

Just  as  is  the  case  with  other  nations,  the  beings  called 
gods  by  the  Greeks  are  but  the  personifications  of  the 
powers  and  objects  of  nature,  and  the  legends  but  repre- 
sent the  courses  of  nature  and  its  operations.  To  these 
primitive  notions  imagination  afterwards  added,  and  po- 
etr}^  clothed  the  whole  with  a  warm  glow.  Thus  was 
formed  the  popular  Greek  faith. 

ORIGIN    OF   THE    W^ORLD    AND    OF   THE    GODS. 

Accordino-  to  the  ideas  of  the  Homeric  and  Hesiodic 
ages,  it  would  seem  that  the  world  was  a  hollow  globe, 
divided  Into  two  equal  portions  by  the  flat  disk  of  the 
earth.  The  external  shell  of  this  globe  Is  called  by  the 
poets  brazen  and  iron,  probably  only  to  express  its  solid- 
ity. The  superior  hemisphere  was  named  Heaven,  the 
inferior  one  Tartarus.  The  length  of  the  diameter  of  the 
hollow  sphere  Is.glven  thus  by  Heslod.    It  would  take,  he 


J  CQ  ERROR'S   CHAINS. 

says,  nine  days  for  an  anvil  to  fall  from  heaven  to  earth ; 
and  an  equal  space  of  time  would  be  occupied  by  its 
fall  from  earth  to  Tartarus.  The  luminaries  which  gave 
lio-ht  to  cfods  and  men  shed  their  radiance  throuMi  all  the 
interior  of  the  upper  hemisphere;  while  that  of  the  in- 
ferior one  was  filled  with  eternal  gloom  and  darkness, 
and  its  still  air  was  unmoved  by  any  wind. 

The  earth  filled  the  centre  of  the  universe  in  the  form 
of  a  round  flat  disk,  or  rather  cylinder,  around  which  the 
river  (the  ocean)  flowed.  Hellas  was  probably  regarded 
as  the  centre  of  the  earth;  but  the  poets  are  silent  on 
this  point.  They  are  equally  so  as  to  the  exact  central 
point,  but  probably  viewed  as  such  Olympus,  the  abode 
of  the  gods.  In  after  times  Delphi  became  practically  the 
7iavel  of  the  earth.  The  sea  divided  the  terrestial  disk 
into  two  portions,  which  we  may  suppose  were  regarded 
as  equal.  These  divisions  do  not  seem  to  have  had  any 
distinctive  names  in  the  time  of  Homer.  The  northern 
one  was  afterwards  named  Europe;  the  southern,  at  first 
called  Asia,  alone,  was  in  process  of  time  divided  into 
Asia  and  Libya,  the  former  comprising  all  the  country 
between  the  Phasis  and  the  Nile,  the  latter  all  between 
this  river  and  the  western  ocean. 

In  the  sea,  the  Greeks  appear  to  have  known,  to  the 
west  of  their  own  country,  southern  Italy,  Sicily  and 
Spain,  though  their  ideas  respecting  these  countries  were 
probably  vague  and  uncertain.  The  imagination  of  the 
poets,  or  the  tales  of  voyagers,  had  placed  in  the  more 
remote  parts  of  it  several  islands,  such  as  the  Og^^gian, 
the  isle  of  Calypso ;  the  ^sean,  that  of  Kirke ;  the 
yEolion,  that  of  i^olos;  Scheria,  the  abode  of  the  Phaea- 
kians — islands  in  all  probability  as  Ideal  and  as  fabulous 
as  the  isles  of  Panchaia,  Lilliput,  or  Brobdignag,  though 
both  ancients  and  moderns  have  endeavored  to  assign 


THE  GODS  OF  GREECE. 


153 


their  exact  positions.  Along  its  southern  coast  lay,  It 
would  appear,  the  countries  of  the  Lotos-eaters,  the 
Cyclops,  the  Giants  and  the  Lsestrigonians.  These  Isles 
and  coasts  of  the  western  part  of  the  sea  were  the  scenes 
of  most  of  the  wonders  of  early  Grecian  fable.  There, 
and  on  the  isles  of  the  ocean,  the  passage  to  which  was 
(supposed  to  be  closed  to  the  island  of  Kirke,  dwelt  the 
Sirens,  the  Hesperides,  the  Graecae,  the  Gorgons  and  the 
other  beings  of  fable,  whose  varied  deeds  make  up  the 
ever  interesting  narratives  of  the  ancient  mythology. 

The  Greeks  of  the  early  ages  knew  little  of  any  people 
except  those  to  the  east  and  south  of  their  own  country, 
or  near  the  coast  of  the  Mediterranean.  Their  imagina- 
tion, meantime,  had  peopled  the  western  portion  of  this 
sea  with  giants,  monsters  and  enchantresses  ;  while  they 
placed  around  the  edge  of  the  disk  of  the  earth,  which 
they  probably  regarded  as  of  no  great  width,  nations  en- 
joying the  peculiar  favor  of  the  gods,  and  blessed  with 
happiness  and  longevity — a  notion  which  continued  to 
prevail  even  in  the  historic  times. 

The  entrance  to  the  city  or  palace  of  the  gods  on 
Olympus  was  closed  by  a  gate  of  clouds  kept  by  the 
goddesses  named  the  "  Seasons  ;"  but  the  cloudy  valves 
opened  spontaneously  to  permit  the  greater  gods  to  pass 
to  and  fro  on  their  visits  to  the  earth,  thus  linking  with 
earth's  phases  the  approaches  or  departures  of  the  gods. 

Tartarus  was  un visited  by  the  light  of  day.  It  was 
regarded  as  the  prison  of  the  gods,  and  not  as  the  place 
of  torment  for  wicked  men,  beincr  to  the  eods  what  Ere- 
bus  was  to  men — the  abode  of  those  who  were  driven 
from  the  supernal  world.  The  Titans,  when  conquered, 
were  shut  up  in  it;  and  In  the  Ilias,  Zeus  menaces  the 
subordinate  and  refractory  gods  with  banishment  to  Its 
murky  regions. 


-A  EA'ROR'S   CHAIiYS. 


THE    GENERATIONS    OF    THE    GODS. 

Chaos  (void  space)  was  first:  then  came  into  being 
"  broad-breasted  "  Earth,  the  gloomy  Tartarus  and  Love, 
Chaos  produced  Erebus  and  Nioht,  and  this  last  bore  to 
Erebus  Day  and  Ether. 

Earth  now  produced  Uranos  (Heaven),  of  equal  e:* 
tent  with  herself,  to  envelop  her,  and  the  mountains  and 
Pontos  (Sea).  She  then  bore  to  Uranus  a  mighty  pro- 
geny— the  Titans  ;  six  males  and  six  females.  She  also 
bore  the  three  Cyclops  and  the  three-hundred  handed 
ones,  Hottos,  Briareus  and  Gyges.  These  children  were 
hated  by  their  father,  who,  as  soon  as  they  were  born, 
thrust  them  out  of  sight  in  a  cavern  of  mother  Earth,  who, 
grieved  at  his  conduct,  produced  the  substance  of  hoary 
steel,  and,  forming  from  it  a  sickle,  roused  her  children, 
the  Titans,  to  rebellion  against  him  ;  but  fear  seized  on 
them  all  except  Kronos,  who,  lying  in  wait  with  the  sickle 
with  which  his  mother  had  armed  him,  mutilated  his  un- 
suspecting sire.  The  drops  which  fell  to  the  earth  from 
the  wounds  gave  birth  to  the  Erinnyes,  the  Giants  and 
the  Mehan  nymphs ;  and  from  what  fell  into  the  sea 
sprang  Aphrodite,  the  goddess  of  love  and  beauty. 

Earth  finally,  after  the  overthrow  of  the  Titans,  bore 
by  Tartaros  her  last  offspring,  the  hundred-headed  Ty- 
phoeus,  the  father  of  storms  and  whirlwinds,  whom  Zeus 
precipitated  into  Tartarus. 

Rhea  was  united  to  Kronos.  Kronos,  having  learned 
from  his  parents.  Heaven  and  Earth,  that  he  was  fated 
to  be  deprived  by  one  of  his  sons  of  the  kingdom  which 
he  had  taken  from  his  father,  devoured  his  children  as 
fast  as  they  w^ere  born.  Rhea,  when  about  to  be  deliv- 
ered of  Zeus,  besought  her  parents  to  teach  her  how  she 
might  save  him.     Instructed  by  Earth,  she  concealed  him 


THE  GODS  OF  GREECE. 


155 


in  a  cavern  of  Crete,  and  gave  a  stone  In  his  stead  to 
Kronos.  This  stone  he  afterward  threw  up,  and  with  it 
the  children  whom  he  had  devoured.  When  Zeus  was 
grown  up,  he  and  the  other  children  of  Kronos  made  war 
on  their  father  and  the  Titans.  The  scene  oi  the  conflict 
was  Thessaly ;  the  former  fought  from  Olympus,  the  lat- 
ter from  Othrys.  During  ten  entire  years  the  conflict 
was  undecided ;  at  length,  by  the  counsel  of  Earth,  the 
Kronids  released  the  Hundred-handed  and  called  them 
to  their  aid.  The  war  was  then  resumed  with  renewed 
vigor,  and  the  Titans  were  finally  vanquished  and  im- 
prisoned in  Tartarus,  under  the  guard  of  the  Hundred- 
handed.  The  Kronids  then,  by  the  advice  of  Earth,  gave 
cie  supreme  power  to  Zeus,  who,  in  return,  distributed 
honors  and  dominion  among  the  associates  of  his  victory. 

GODS    OF   THE    GRECIANS. 

The  Greeks  of  the  early  ages  regarded  the  lofty  Thes- 
salian  mountain  named  Olympus  as  the  dwelling  of  their 
gods.  In  the  Od,yssey,  where  the  deities  are  of  a  char- 
acter far  more  dignified  and  elevated  than  in  the  Ilias,  the 
place  of  their  abode  shares  in  their  exaltation ;  and  it 
may  almost  be  doubted  if  the  poet  who  drew  the  follow- 
ing picture  of  Olympus  could  have  conceived  it  to  be  no 
more  than  the  summit  of  a  terrestrial  mountain : 

"  Olympus,  where  they  say  the  ever  firm 
Seat  of  the  gods  is,  by  the  winds  unshaken, 
Nor  ever  wet  with  rain,  nor  ever  showered 
With  snow,  but  cloudless  ether  o'er  it  spreads, 
And  glittering  light  encircles  it  around, 
On  which  the  happy  gods  aye  dwell  in  bliss." 

Man  loves  to  bestow  his  own  form  upon  his  gods,  as 
being  the  noblest  that  he  can  conceive.     Those  of  Homer 


156 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


are  all  of  the  human  form,  but  of  far  larger  dimensions 
than  men  ;  great  size  being  an  object  of  admiration  both 
in  men  and  women  in  those  early  and  martial  ages. 
Thus,  when  the  goddess  Athena  ascends  as  driver  the 
chariot  of  Diomedes, 

Loud  groaned  the  beechen  axle  with  the  weight, 
For  a  great  god  and  valiant  chief  it  bore ; 

when  in  the  battle  of  the  eods  Ares  is  struck  to  the  earth 
by  this  goddess,  he  is  described  as  covering  seven  ple- 
thra  of  ground  ;  the  helmet  of  the  goddess  herself  would, 
we  are  told,  cover  the  footmen  of  a  hundred  towns  ;  when 
Hera  is  about  to  make  an  oath  she  lays  one  hand  on  the 
earth,  the  other  on  the  sea ;  the  voice  of  Poseidon  and 
Ares  are  as  loud  as  the  shout  of  nine  or  ten  thousand 
men. 

The  o^ods  can,  however,  increase  or  diminish  their  size, 
assume  the  form  of  particular  men,  or  of  any  animals, 
and  make  themselves  visible  and  invisible  at  their  pleas- 
ure. Their  bodies  are  also  of  a  finer  nature  than  those 
of  men.  It  is  not  blood,  but  a  blood-like  fluid  named 
ichor,  which  flows  in  their  veins.  They  are  susceptible  of 
injury  by  mortal  weapons ;  the  arrows  of  Herakles  vio- 
late the  divine  bodies  of  Hera  and  Hades.  Diomedes 
wounds  both  Aphrodite  and  Ares.  They  require  nour- 
ishment as  men  do ;  their  food  Is  called  Ambrosia,  their 
drink  Nectar.  Their  mode  of  life  exactly  resembles  that 
of  the  princes  and  nobles  of  the  heroic  ages.  In  the  pal- 
ace of  Zeus,  on  Olympus,  they  feast  at  the  approach  of 
evenlno-,  and  converse  of  the  affairs  of  heaven  and  earth ; 
the  nectar  Is  handed  round  by  Hebe  (youth)  ;  Apollo 
delights  them  with  the  tones  of  his  lyre ;  and  the  Muses, 
in  responsive  strains,  pour  forth  their  melodious  voices  in 
song.     When  the  sun  descends  each  god  retires  to  re- 


THE  GODS  OF  GREECE.  ^  en 

pose  in  his  own  dwelling.  They  frequently  partake  of 
the  hospitality  of  men,  travel  with  them,  and  share  in  their 
wars  and  battles. 

With  the  form  of  men  the  Homeric  gods  also  partake 
of  their  passions.  They  are  capricious,  jealous,  revenge- 
ful, will  support  their  favorites  through  right  and  wrong, 
and  are  implacable  toward  their  enemies  or  even  those 
who  have  slighted  them.  Their  power  was  held  to  ex- 
tend very  far;  men  regarded  them  the  authors  of  both 
good  and  evil ;  all  human  ability  and  success  was  as- 
cribed to  them.  They  were  believed  to  have  power  over 
the  thoughts  of  men,  and  could  imperceptibly  suggest 
such  as  they  pleased.  They  required  of  men  to  honor 
them  with  prayer,  and  the  sacrifice  of  oxen,  goats,  sheep, 
lambs  and  kids,  and  oblations  of  wine  and  corn,  and 
fragrant  herbs.  When  offended,  they  usually  remitted 
their  wrath  when  thus  appeased. 

The  Homeric  gods  have  all  different  ranks  and  offices : 
Olympus  being,  in  fact,  regulated  on  the  model  of  a 
Grecian  city  of  the  heroic  ages.  Zeus  was  king  of  the 
region  of  the  air  and  clouds,  which  had  fallen  to  him  by 
lot  on  the  dethronement  of  his  father  Kronos;  the  sea 
was  the  realm  of  his  brother  Poseidon ;  the  under-world 
fell  to  Hades  in  the  division  of  their  conquests;  earth 
and  Olympus  were  common  property.  Zeus,  however, 
as  eldest  brother,  exercised  a  supremacy,  and  his  power 
was  the  greatest.  The  other  inhabitants  of  Olympus 
were  Hera,  sister  and  spouse  of  Zeus;  Apollo,  the  god  of 
music  and  archery;  his  sister  Artemis,  the  goddess  of  the 
chase,  and  their  mother  Leto;  Aphrodite,  goddess  of 
love,  and  her  mother  Dione;  Ares,  god  of  war;  Pallas- 
Athene,  goddess  of  prudence  and  skill ;  Themis,  god- 
dess of  justice;  Hermoias,  god  of  grain;  Hebe,  the 
attendant   of  the  Olympian  king  and  queen    and  Isis, 


158 


ENJiOR'S   CHAINS. 


their  messenger;  Hephaestos.  the  celestial  artist,  and 
Paeeon,  the  physician;  and  the  Muses,  the  Graces  and 
the  Seasons.  Poseidon  was  frequently  there  ;  but  Dem- 
eter,  the  goddess  of  agriculture,  and  Dionysius,  the  god 
of  wine,  do  not  appear  among  the  residents  of  Olympus. 
The  Nymphs  and  the  River-gods  occasionally  visited  or 
were  summoned  to  it.  Eos,  Helios  and  Selene,  rose 
every  day  out  of  the  ocean-stream,  and  drove  in  their 
chariots  through  the  air,  shedding  their  cheering  beams 
abroad. 

All  the  dwellings  of  the  gods  upon  Olympus  were  of 
brass  or  copper,  the  metal  which  was  in  the  greatest 
abundance  in  Greece.  Hephaestos  was  architect  and 
smith;  he  formed  all  the  arms,  household  furniture, 
chariots  and  other  articles  in  use  amonof  the  Celestials ; 
but  their  dress,  especially  that  of  the  goddesses,  appears 
to  have  been  the  workmanship  of  Pallas-Athene  or  of  the 
Graces.  The  gold  which  proceeded  from  the  work-shop 
of  Hephaestos  was  filled  with  automatic  power;  his  stat- 
ues were  endowed  with  intelligence;  his  tripods  could 
move  of  themselves;  he  made  the  golden  shoes,  or  rather 
soles,  with  which  the  gods  trod  the  air  and  the  waters,  or 
strode  with  the  speed  of  winds,  or  even  of  thought,  from 
mountain  to  mountain  upon  the  earth  which  trembled 
beneath  their  weicfht.  The  chariots  of  the  eods  an.I 
their  appurtenances  were  formed  of  various  metals. 
That  of  Hera,  for  example,  is  thus  described: 

'•  Then  Hebe  quickly  to  the  chariot  put 

The  round  wheels,  eight-spoked,  brazen,  strong 
Axle  of  iron.     Gold  their  fellies  were, 
And  undecaying,  but  thereon  of  brass 
The  tires,  well-fitting,  wondrous  to  behold. 
Of  silver  was  the  rounded  nave  of  each  ; 
The  body  was  hung  by  gold  and  silver  cords, 
And  two  curved  sides  encompassed  it  about. 


THE  GODS  OF  GREECE.  j  eg 

The  pole  was  silver,  and  upon  its  end 
She  tied  the  beauteous  golden  yoke,  and  bound 
On  it  the  golden  braces  fair ;  the  steeds, 
Swift-footed  then  beneath  the  yoke  were  led 
By  Hera,  eager  for  the  war  and  strife." 

These  chariots  were  drawn  by  horses  of  celestial  breed, 
Avhich  could  whirl  them  to  and  fro  between  heaven  and 
■earth,  through  the  yielding  air,  or  skim  with  them  along 
the  surface  of  the  sea,  without  wetting  the  axle.  They 
were  only  used  on  occasions  of  taking  a  long  journey, 
.as  when  Hera  professes  that  she  is  going  to  the  end  of 
the  earth  to  make  up  the  quarrel  between  Okeanos  and 
Tethys;  or  on  occasions  in  which  the  gods  wished  to  ap- 
pear with  state  and  magnificence.  On  ordinary  occa- 
sions the  gods  moved  by  the  aid  of  their  golden  shoes; 
when  at  home  in  their  houses,  they,  like  the  men  of  those 
ages,  went  bare-foot. 

The  Greeks  tell  almost  innumerable  stories  of  their 
gods,  and  their  adventures,  love-escapades  and  wars. 
Some  are  wonderfully  beautiful,  others  humble  or  gro- 
tesque. Their  heroes  come  in  for  a  share  of  the  honors 
paid  the  gods.  We  can  compare  these  stories  with  the 
legends  of  other  nations,  and  see  the  wondrous  resem- 
l)lance  between  them. 

SPECIMEN    STORIES    FROM   GREEK    MYTHOLOGY. 

It  will  be  possible  to  introduce  but  a  few  of  the  very 
many  Greek  legends  and  myths.  We  choose  to  give  a 
few  fully,  rather  than  to  give  many  imperfectly. 

HERMES   AND    APOLLO. 

Hermes  was  born  of  the  mountain-nymph,  Maia,  in  a 
cavern  of  Mount  Kyllene,  in  Arcadia.  He  had  scarcely 
been  laid  in  his  cradle,  when  he  got  up  and  set  off  for 


l5o  ERROR'S   CHAINS. 

Pieria,  to  steal  cows  from  Apollo.  As  he  was  going  out 
he  met  a  tortoise,  which  he  caught  up  and  carried  back 
to  the  cave;  when,  quick  as  thought,  he  killed  the  animal,, 
took  out  the  flesh,  adapted  reeds  and  strings  to  the  shell, 
and  formed  from  it  the  Phormin  or  Lyre,  on  which  he 
immediately  played  with  perfect  skill.  He  then  laid  it  up 
in  his  cradle,  and  resumed  his  journey. 

He  arrived  by  sunset  in  Pieria,  where  the  oxen  of  the 
gods  fed  under  the  care  of  Apollo.  He  forthwith  sepa- 
rated fifty  cows  from  the  herd  and  drove  them  away,, 
contriving  to  make  them  go  backwards ;  and  throwing 
away  his  sandals,  bound  branches  of  myrtle  and  tamarisk 
under  his  feet,  that  the  herdsman-god  might  have  no  clew 
by  which  to  trace  his  cattle.  As  he  passed  by  Onchestos  ia 
Bseotia,  he  saw  an  old  man  engaged  in  planting  his  vine- 
yard, whom  he  strictly  charged  not  to  tell  what  he  had  seen. 
He  then  pursued  his  way  by  shady  hills,  resounding  vales 
and  flowery  plains,  and  as  the  moon  was  rising  arrived 
with  his  booty  on  the  banks  of  the  Alpheios  in  the  Pelo- 
ponnese.  He  there  fed  and  stalled  his  kine,  made  a  fire^ 
killed,  cut  up,  and  dressed  two  of  them,  and  even  made 
black  puddings  of  their  blood,  and  then  thriftily  spread 
their  skins  to  dry  on  a  rock.  He  burned  the  heads  and 
feet,  and  put  out  the  fire,  effacing  all  signs  of  it,  and  flung- 
his  twig-sandals  into  the  river.  With  daybreak  he  slank 
home  and  stole  into  his  cradle,  not  unobserved  by  his 
mother,  who  reproached  him  with  his  deeds;  but  he  re- 
plied that  he  was  resolved  by  his  actions  to  procure  ad- 
mission for  her  and  himself  to  the  assembly  of  the  gods. 

In  the  morning  Apollo  missed  his  kine ;  he  set  out  in 
search  of  them,  and  met  the  old  man,  who  informed  him 
of  his  having  seen  a  child  driving  cows  along.  He  comes 
to  Pylos,  where  he  sees  the  traces  of  his  cattle,  but  is 
amazed  at  the  strange  foot-prints  of  their  driver.     He 


THE  GODS  OF  GREECE. 


i6r 


proceeds  to  the  fragrant  cave  of  the  nymphs,  and  Hermes 
on  seeing  him  gathers  himself  up  under  the  clothes, 
afraid  of  the  god.  Apollo  takes  the  key,  opens  and 
searches  the  three  closets  where  the  nymph  kept  her 
clothes,  ornaments  and  food,  but  to  no  purpose.  He 
then  threatens  the  child  that  he  will  fling  him  into  Tar- 
tarus unless  he  tells  him  where  the  cows  are  ;  but  Hermes 
stoutly  denies  all  knowledge  of  them,  and  even  very  in- 
nocently asks  what  cows  are.  Apollo  pulls  him  out  of 
the  cradle  and  they  agree  to  go  and  argue  the  matter 
before  Zeus.  Arrived  in  Olympus,  Apollo  relates  the 
theft,  and  tells  what  reasons  he  had  for  suspecting  the 
baby  of  being  the  thief.  All  this  Is,  to  the  great  amuse- 
ment of  the  Celestials,  stoutly  denied  and  its  absurdity 
shown  by  the  little  fellow,  who  still  has  his  cradle  clothes 
about  him.  Zeus,  however,  gives  judgment  against  Her- 
mes, and  the  two  brothers  are  sent  in  search  of  the  miss- 
ing kine.  They  come  to  Pylos,  and  Hermes  drives  the 
cattle  out  of  the  cave.  Apollo  misses  two  of  them;  to  his 
amazement  he  sees  their  skins  on  a  rock,  and  is  still  more 
surprised,  when,  on  going  to  drive  the  others  on,  he  finds 
the  art  of  Hermes  had  rooted  their  feet  to  the  ground. 
Hermes  then  begins  to  play  on  his  lyre,  the  tones  of 
which  so  ravish  Apollo  that  he  offers  him  the  cows  for  it. 
The  young  god  gives  him  the  lyre,  and  receives  the 
cattle.  The  divine  herdsman  also  gives  him  his  whip, 
and  instructs  him  !j1  the*  management  of  the  herds. 

THE    LOTUS-EATERS    AND    THE    CYCLOPS. 

Odysseus  when  on  his  return  from  Troy,  encountered 
a  violent  north-east  wind,  which  drove  him  for  nine  days, 
until  he  reached  the  country  of  the  Lotus-eaters.  He 
sent  three  of  his  men  to  see  who  the  Inhabitants  were. 
These  men  on   coming   among   the  Lotus-eaters   were 


I  52  ERUOR'S  CHAINS. 

kindly  entertained  by  them,  and  given  some  of  their 
own  food,  the  Lotus  plant,  to  eat.  The  eftect  of  this 
plant  was  such,  that  those  who  tasted  it  lost  all  thoughts 
of  home  and  wished  to  remain  in  that  country.  It  was 
by  main  force  that  Odysseus  dragged  these  men  away, 
and  he  was  even  obliged  to  tie  them  under  the  benches  of 
his  ship. 

Then  he  sailed  to  the  westward  and  came  to  the  land 
of  the  Cyclops.  These  were  a  rude,  lawless  people,  who 
neither  planted  nor  sowed,  but  whose  land  was  so  fertile 
as  spontaneously  to  produce  for  them  wheat,  barley  and 
grapes.  They  dwelt  in  caves,  and  each  without  regard 
to  others  governed  his  wife  and  children. 

In  front  of  one  of  their  harbors  lay  a  beautiful  island, 
well-stocked  with  goats.  Leaving  his  fleet  at  this  island, 
Odysseus  went  with  one  ship  to  the  mainland.  Here 
he  entered  the  cave  of  a  Cyclops,  Polyphemus  by  name. 
When  Polyphemus  returned  in  the  evening  with  his  flocks 
and  found  strangers  there,  he  asked  who  they  were. 
Odysseus  said  that  they  had  been  shipwrecked,  and  ap- 
pealed to  his  mercy  and  reverence  for  the  gods.  Poly- 
phemus cared  for  neither  and  he  seized  and  killed  and 
devoured  two  young  Greeks.  The  door  of  the  cave  was 
closed  with  an  immense  rock,  so  that,  if  they  killed  Poly- 
phemus, they  could  not  have  escaped,  for  they  could  not 
move  the  rock.  The  next  night,  though,  w^hen  Polyphe- 
mus was  in  a  drunken  sleep,  they  took  his  staff,  which 
was  as  large  as  a  mast,  heated  it  in  the  fire,  and  put  out 
his  one  eye.  When  the  giant  roared  out  with  pain,  the 
other  Cyclops  came  to  see  what  was  the  matter.  Odys- 
seus had  told  him  that  his  name  was  Nobody.  So  when 
he  called  out  that  Nobody  was  killing  him,  they  thought 
him  dreaming.  Next  morning  when  Polyphemus  turned 
out  his  sheep  and  goats,  which  were  of  great  size,  the 


IHE  GODS  OJ'  GREECE. 


163 


Greeks  fastened  themselves  beneath  their  bellies  and  so 
escaped.  After  they  had  put  out  to  sea  a  little  way, 
Odysseus  called  out  his  true  name,  and  the  angry  Cyclops 
hurled  great  stones  at  him,  and  nearly  destroyed  his  ship. 

HERCULES'    TWELVE    TASKS. 

In  obedience  to  the  god  Zeus,  Hercules  was  made  to 
serve  Eurystheus,  who  gave  him  twelve  tasks  to  perform. 
The  first  task  was  to  bring  the  skin  of  an  unconquerable 
lion,  the  Nemean.  Hercules  choked  the  lion.  The 
second  task  was  to  destroy  the  nine-headed  hydra,  or 
water-snake.  He  cut  off  the  heads,  but  two  sprang  up 
where  one  was  cut  off.  Then  his  companion  with  a 
torch  burned  the  necks  where  the  heads  were  cut  off  by 
Hercules  the  second  time.  The  third  task  was  to  bring 
the  golden-horned  hind  alive.  He  wounded  and  then 
caught  her.  The  fourth  task  was  to  bring  an  immense 
wild  boar  alive.  The  fifth  task  was  to  cleanse  the  immense 
stables  of  King  Augeas  in  one  day.  This  he  did  by 
mining  the  rivers  Penios  and  Alpheios.  The  sixth  task 
was  to  drive  away  the  stymphalid  water- fowl.  A  god- 
dess gave  him  brazen  clappers,  the  beating  of  which 
made  the  birds  rise  from  their  hiding-places,  when  Her- 
cules destroyed  them  with  his  arrows.  The  seventh  task 
was  to  fetch  the  wild  and  furious  Cretan  bull.  The  eighth 
task  was  to  bring  the  Centaurs  of  Thrace.  The  Cen- 
taurs were  horses  with  the  heads  and  upper  half  of  the 
human  body.  The  ninth  was  to  bring  the  girdle  of  the 
mighty  queen  of  the  Amazons.  The  tenth  was  to  bring 
the  purple-headed  oxen  of  the  Ruddy-isle.  The  eleventh 
was  to  bring  the  apples  of  the  Hesperides.  After  meeting 
with  various  adventures  he  reached  the  place  where  they 
were,  and  while  he  upheld  the  heavens  Atlas  plucked  the 
apples,  which  Hercules,  by  a  cute  device,  secured  from  him. 


{^^  E/iROR'S   CHAINS. 

The  twelfth  task  was  to  bring  Cerberus  from  the  under- 
world. All  his  tasks  were  accomplished.  The  whole 
story  of  the  hero  Hercules  is  intensely  interesting. 

THE    PHIDIAN    JUPITER. 

Zeus — the  Jupiter  of  the  Romans — the  chief,  was  the 
earliest  of  the  national  gods.  The  great  place  of  his 
worship  was  at  Olympia.  Here  was  the  magnificent 
statue  of  Jupiter,  made  by  the  famous  Phidias.  This 
statue  was  sixty-five  feet  high.  The  frame-work,  of  cedar 
and  olive  wood,  was  covered  with  ivory  and  gold.  His 
throne  was  of  cedar  wood,  inlaid  with  ivory  and  precious 
stones.  In  his  right  hand  he  held  a  statue  of  victory, 
and  in  his  left  a  sceptre  surmounted  by  the  eagle.  The 
footstool  was  supported  by  sphinxes,  and  the  throne  was 
of  cedar  wood,  inlaid  with  ivory,  the  ebony  pedestal  was 
covered  with  sculptured  scenes  of  his  life  and  adventures. 
Probably  no  idol  of  ancient  or  modern  times  exceeds 
this  in  its  majestic,  massive  beauty.  Neither  ivory  nor 
gold  were  plentiful  in  Greece,  yet  so  devoted  were  the 
people  that  they  provided  the  immense  quantity  for  this 
idol  readily.  The  gold  plates  were  one-eighth  of  an 
inch  thick,  and  were  worth  then  over  ^600,000,  equal  to 
an  immense  sum  in  our  days.  At  Olympia,  as  at  the 
Isthmus  of  Corinth,  games  were  held  at  the  yearly  re- 
ligious festivals.  From  these  games  the  apostle  Paul 
derived  many  of  the  metaphors  so  frequent  in  his  writings. 

GRECIAN    TEMPLES    AND    WORSHIP   OF    PAUL's    DAY. 

Paul,  the  Christian  Missionary,  came  into  contact  with 
the  heathenism  of  both  Greece  and  Rome.  In  Athens, 
Corinth  and  Ephesus  especially  he  was  brought  face  to 
face  with  idols  and  temples.  The  story  of  his  visit  to 
these  places  as  told  by  Luke  (Acts  xvii.,  xviii.  and  xix.), 


IMAGE  OF  JUPITER.  MADE  BY  THE  CELEBRATED  SCULPTOR.  PHIDIAS. 


THE  GODS  OF  GREECE.  I  5^ 

and  by  Paul  (in  his  letters  to  the  Corinthians  and  Ephe- 
sians)  presents  a  vivid  picture  of  the  condition  of  the 
Greek  religion  in  its  latest  development.  Soon  the  whole 
system  was  to  lie  in  ruins,  its  temples  were  to  be  for- 
saken, its  idols  destroyed,  its  worship  forgotten.  This 
mighty  change  was  to  be  produced  by  the  power  of  God 
working  through  one  weak  man,  belonging  to  what  was 
everywhere  regarded  as  a  narrow-minded  race,  and  with- 
out any  backing  of  pomp,  or  power,  or  wealth. 

THE    CITY    CROWDED    WITH    IDOLS, 

As  Paul  entered  the  gate-way  of  the  Piraeus  at  Athens, 
he  was  met  immediately  with  the  proofs  of  the  intense 
devotion  of  the  Athenians  to  their  worship.  Before  him 
stood  Minerva's  temple  and  the  image  of  Neptune,  her 
rival,  seated  on  horseback,  holding  his  trident.  Passing 
on  he  came,  after  a  little,  to  the  temple  of  Ceres  with  the 
images  sculptured  by  the  far-famed  Praxiteles.  A  little 
further  on  his  eyes  must  have  fell  upon  Bacchus's  temple 
and  the  images  of  Zeus,  Minerva,  Apollo,  Mercury  and 
the  Muses.  All  around  him  are  temples,  statues,  altars 
and  shrines,  and  the  news-seeking  Athenians  gather 
about  him.  Every  public  place  and  building  was  ac- 
counted sacred.  The  market-place  (the  Agora)  and  the 
Acropolis  were  crowded  with  temples  and  altars  to  the 
gods,  and  even  to  deified  virtues.  There  were  altars  to 
Fame,  to  Modesty,  to  Persuasion  and  to  Pity.  And,  lest 
they  should  by  any  chance  leave  out  any  god  or  being 
who  might  help  or  injure  them,  they  built  an  altar  to  Att 
Ufiknown  God.  With  all  their  worship  they  had  not 
found  the  true  God. 

The  magnificent  Parthenon — the  Virgin's  House — was 
the  glorious  temple  erected  to  Minerva's  honor.  Within 
it  was  the  colossal  statue  of  ivory  and  gold,  made  by  the 


I  68  ERROKS  CHAINS. 

famous  Phidias,  rivaled  only  by  the  same  artist's  statu\  oi 
Jupiter.  In  the  midst  of  all  this  idolatry,  what  thought 
was  in  the  mind  of  Paul?  "His  spirit  was  stirred  within 
him  when  he  saw  the  city  crowded  with  idols."  It  was 
said  in  those  days  that  it  was  easier  to  find  an  idol  in 
Athens  than  a  man. 

The  Athenians  led  Paul  away  to  the  Areopagus.  Here 
the  judges  sat  in  the  open  air,  upon  seats  hewn  out  of 
the  rock.  A  temple  of  Mars  crowned  the  height.  Be- 
fore Paul's  view  the  whole  city  with  its  maze  of  temples, 
shrines  and  statues,  was  spread  out.  The  intensely  earn- 
est Christian  Apostle  stood  before  the  frivolous  heathen 
crowd.  He  is  alone,  yet  not  alone.  His  Master  is  with 
him.  He  quails  not,  he  minces  no  matters,  he  speaks 
boldly,  fearlessly.  He  recognizes  their  intense  religious- 
ness (if  we  may  so  call  it).  He  declares  the  truth  that 
the  Deity  does  not  dwell  in  temples  made  with  hands, 
even  with  the  hundreds  of  temples  before  him.  With 
the  recollection  of  Phidias's  famous  statues  fresh  in  mind 
and  the  countless  idols  before  his  view  he  declares  that 
the  Deity  is  not  to  be  likened  to  forms  in  gold,  silver  or 
stone,  graven  by  art  and  man's  device.  The  city  is,  ap- 
parently, scarcely  moved,  but  the  leaven  has  been  put  in, 
and  soon  the  whole  lump  will  be  leavened.  A  few  years 
pass  by  and  the  worship  of  Athen<5  is  only  a  remembrance. 
Close  by  Athens  was  one  city  whicii  Paul  visited  and 
where  he  founded  one  of  the  strongest  Christian  churches. 
This  city  was  held  in  bad  repute  in  all  the  world  on  ac- 
count of  its  licentiousness.  It  was  not  only  the  seat  of 
wealth  and  splendor,  but  also  a  den  of  vice.  "To  Cor- 
inthianize"  meant  to  play  the  wanton.  The  worship  in 
the  temple  of  Venus  was  of  the  most  shameful  character. 
To  the  north-east  of  Corinth  was  the  temple  of  Neptune, 
where  the  celebrated  Isthmian  games  were  celebrated. 


THE  GODS  OF  GREECE. 


171 


DIANA    OF    THE    EPHESIANS. 

Ephesus  was  the  central  city  of  Asia  Minor.  One  of 
its  buildings  ranked  in  importance  above  all  others — the 
Temple  of  Diana.  This  was  reckoned  as  one  of  the 
wonders  of  the  world,  and  the  Ephesians  were  wont  to 
speak  of  Diana  as  the  goddess  whom  all  the  world  wor- 
shiped. The  temple  had  been  once  destroyed,  and  then 
rebuilt  with  great  magnificence.  The  ladies  of  Ephesus, 
at  its  rebuilding,  had  given  their  jewelry.  Alexander 
offered  immense  riches  to  the  Ephesians,  if  they  would 
but  permit  him  to  have  his  name  inscribed  on  its  walls ; 
but  they  would  not  consent.  This  was  the  rallying-point 
of  heathenism  in  Paul's  day.  The  temple  was  425  feet 
lonsf,  220  broad,  and  its  columns  were  60  feet  hiofh.  There 
were  127  columns,  each  the  gift  of  a  king.  Only  a  part 
of  it  was  roofed  over,  and  this  was  with  cedar.  The  re- 
maining parts  were  rich  with  statuary  and  columns.  "It  is 
probable  that  there  was  no 
building  in  the  world  in 
which  was  concentrated  a 
greater  amount  of  admira- 
tion, enthusiasm  and  super- 
stition." 

The  first  statue  of  Diana 
of  Ephesus  was  a  shapeless 
black  stone — an  aerolite 
— which  had  fallen  from 
the  sky.  Afterwards  her 
images  were  made  of  wood. 
She  is  covered  with  breasts 
and  with  the  heads  of  animals.  She  is  supposed  to 
represent  the  natural  fertility  of  the  earth. 

Diana  was  not  worshiped  in  the  temple  only.    Number- 


MEDAL  OF  DIANA. 


172 


ERJiOR'S  CHAINS. 


less  little  shrines,  containinor  models  of  Diana  in  silver 
or  gold,  or  even  wood,  were  made  to  be  carried  about 
one's  person,  to  be  set  up  on  household  altars  or  carried 
in  processions.  There  was  carried  on  at  Ephesus  an  ex- 
tensive trade  in  these.  The  worship  of  Diana,  in  all  its 
parts  and  in  all  places,  was  conducted  with  great  mag- 
nificence. 

The  Greek  language  and  literature  and  their  temples 
and  statues,  have  been  for  centuries  the  models  of  the 
world  ;  but  their  conceptions  of  the  gods  and  their  myths 
are  no  more  thought  of,  and  no  longer  regarded  as  of 
authority  in  religious  affairs.  They  are  emphatically  dead 
as  powers  over  the  morals  of  men. 


THE  WORSHIP  AND  GODS  OF  ROME. 


^n 


CHAPTER   IX. 

THE    WORSHIP   AND    GODS   OF    ROME. 

**  Within  this  grove,  upon  this  wooded  hill," 
He  said,  "some  deity  his  dwelling  made ; 
But  who  or  what,  none  knows.     The  Arcadians 
Think  they  have  seen  great  Jove  himself,  when  oft 
With  his  right  hand  he  shook  his  darkening  shield, 
And  called  his  clouds  around  him." 

Virgil. 

When  fierce  gales  bowed  the  high  pines,  when  blazed 
The  lightning,  and  the  savage  in  the  storm 

Some  unknown  godhead  heard,  and,  awe-struck,  gazed 
On  Jove's  imagined  form. 

SOTHEBY. 

LONG  before  Rome  was  founded  Italy  was  peopled 
with  an  industrious  class  of  farmers.  But  we 
have  scarce  any  records  of  those  early  times. 
Some  of  their  gigantic  buildings,  lakes  and  canals  re- 
main, but  these  are  almost  all  that  is  left.  The  religious 
ideas  of  these  early  settlers  entered  into  and,  to  a  great 
extent,  moulded  the  religion  of  the  Romans.  The 
people  of  Italy  did  not  have  the  same  vivid  imaginations 
and  lively  fancies  as  the  people  of  Greece.  Their  early 
worship  seems  to  have  been  of  a  more  serious  character 
than  that  of  the  Greeks.  Their  gods  were  freer  from 
moral  taint,  and  virtue  rather  than  vice  was  required  in 
followers  of  the  Roman  religions.  The  poetic  art  was 
little  cultivated  among  them,  or  for  that  matter,  in  Rome 


J  74  ERROR'S   CHAINS. 

of  a  later  day.  But  Rome  soon  began  to  borrow  from 
Greece,  and  to  appropriate  her  gods,  heroes  and  myths. 
There  are  no  Itahan  myths  corresponding  to  those  of 
Greece.  In  Virsfil  and  Ovid  a  few  adventures  of  the 
Italian  gods  are  related,  but  these  are  plainly  imitations 
or  sliofht  modifications  of  the  Greek  stories. 

THE    ETRUSCAN    RELIGION. 

Before  they  became  acquainted  with  Greece,  the  Ro- 
mans looked  to  the  Etruscans  as  their  Instructors  in  re- 
ligious things.  The  disposition  of  the  Etruscans  was 
melancholy  and  serious;  their  form  of  government  a 
rigid  aristocracy,  administered  by  an  hereditary  race  or 
caste  of  priestly  nobility.  Their  system  was  founded  on 
some  peculiar  views  of  the  world  and.  its  periods,  and  on 
the  art  of  learning  the  will  of  the  supernal  powers  by 
the  thunder,  the  lightning,  and  other  aerial  phenomena. 
The  rules  and  principles  of  this  science  were  contained 
in  books  ascribed  to  a  subterranean  daemon  named 
Tages,  who,  the  Tuscan  legend  said,  had  risen  up,  a  babe 
in  form,  an  aged  man  in  wisdom,  from  under  the  soil 
before  the  plow  of  a  peasant  of  Tarquinii  as  he  was  at 
his  work,  and  who  Instructed  the  people  in  divination. 

According  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Etruscans  there  were 
two  orders  of  gods,  the  one  superior,  veiled  and  nameless, 
with  whom  the  supreme  god  took  counsel  when  about  to 
announce  by  lightning  any  change  in  the  present  order 
of  things.  The  other  consisted  of  twelve  gods,  six  male 
and  as  many  females,  his  ordinary  council.  These  were 
called  by  the  common  name  of  Consentes  or  Complices 
(the  Latin  of  the  Etruscan  word),  according  to  Varro, 
because  they  are  born  and  die  together.  The  general 
Etruscan  word  for  a  god  was  ^sar. 

The  supreme  god  of  the  Tuscans,  answering  to  the 


THE  WORSHIP  AND  GODS  OF  ROME. 


175 


Zeus  of  the  Greeks,  the  Jupiter  of  the  Romans,  was 
named  Tina.  A  goddess  named  Kupra  was  called  by 
the  Romans  Juno ;  and  another,  named  Menerfa  or 
Menrfa,  was  the  original  of  the  Minerva  of  Rome.  These 
three  deities  had  always  contiguous  temples  on  the  citadel 
of  every  Etruscan  city.  Hence  the  united  temples  of  Jupi- 
ter, Juno  and  Minerva,  which  crowned  the  capitol  at  Rome. 
A  goddess  named  Nortia.,  answering  to  the  Roman 
Fortuna,  was  worshiped  at  the  Tuscan  cities  of  Sutri  and 
Volsinii.  Vertumnus  also  was  one  of  the  principal  deities 
of  Etruria.  The  Tuscan  god  of  the  under-world,  or 
rather  the  ruler  of  the  dead,  it  is  said,  was  named  Mantus, 
and  there  was  a  oroddess  called  Mama  of  a  similar  nature. 
The  Lares,  or  household  gods,  which  form  so  conspicuous 
a  feature  of  the  Roman  religion,  it  is  probable,  belonged 
originally  to  the  Etruscan  system  of  worship. 

THE    SABELLIAN    RELIGION. 

The  rigid  virtues  of  a  portion  of  the  Sabellian  race,  par- 
ticularly the  Sabines,  were  always  the  theme  of  praise 
at  Rome.  Grazinp-  and  ao^riculture  were  the  chief  em- 
ployments  of  these  hardy  tribes,  and  their  religion  was 
intimately  connected  with  these  arts  ;  and  consequently, 
we  may  suppose,  bore  much  resemblance  to  that  of  the 
Latins.  It  has  always  been  asserted  that  a  great  portion 
of  the  Roman  relloflon  was  of  Sabine  orlorln. 

The  Sabines  adored  Sancus  and  Sabus  or  Sal^inus,  as 
the  founders  of  their  nation.  Mamers  or  Mars  was 
also  one  of  their  deities ;  an  erect  lance  was  the  symbol 
before  which  he  was  worshiped.  The  Marsian  portion  of 
this  race  were  as  celebrated  for  their  skill  in  detecting  the 
will  of  the  gods  by  the  flight  and  voice  of  the  birds,  as  the 
Etruscans  for  discerning  it  in  the  electric  phenomena  of 
the  sky. 


176 


ERUOR'S   CHAINS. 


THE    GODS    OF   THE    ROMANS. 


There  are  very  many  gods  in  the  Roman  mythology, 
of  these  some  twenty  have  been  called  the  select  gods. 
These  are  Janus,  the  two-faced  sun-god;  Jupiter  (Diovis- 
pater  or  Father-Jove) ;  Saturnus,  the  god  of  agriculture; 
Genius,  or  the  god  of  production ;  Mercurius,  the  god 
who  presided  over  the  business  of  the  market  and  over 
trade  in  general.  Apollo  was  a  god  introduced  from  the 
Greek  mythology.  Mars  was  the  god  of  war.  Vulcan 
was  the  god  of  fire.  Neptune  was  the  god  of  the  sea. 
Sol  and  Luna  were  the  sun  and  moon  god  and  goddess. 
Orcas  was  the  god  of  death,  like  the  Hades  of  the 
Greeks,  or  Yama  of  the  Hindus.  Father  Liber  was  the 
god  of  the  harvest.  Tellus  was  the  god  of  the  earth. 
Ceres  was  the  goddess  of  grain.  Juno  was  the  wife  of 
Jupiter.  Diana  was  the  moon-goddess.  Minerva  was 
the  goddess  of  arts.  Vesta  was  the  goddess  of  the 
household.     Venus  was  the  goddess  of  birth. 

FATHER   JOVE. 

The  word  Jove  appears  to  have  meant,  originally,  God, 
It  corresponds  to  Zeus  of  the  Greeks  and  Dyaus  of  the 
Hindus.  Jove  or  Jupiter  was  the  especial  protector  of 
the  city  of  Rome.  The  chief  Jupiter  was  called  the 
Capitoline  Jupiter.  In  his  temple  adorning  the  Capitol 
in  Rome  were  also  statues  of  Juno  and  Minerva.  Jupiter 
Elicius  was  so  named,  we  are  told,  from  the  following 
circumstance.  In  the  time  of  Numa  there  occurred  great 
thunder  storms  and  rains.  The  people  and  their  king 
were  terrified,  and  the  latter  had  recourse  to  the  counsel 
of  the  nymph  Egeria.  She  Informed  him  that  Faunus 
and  Picus  could  Instruct  him  In  the  mode  of  appeasing 
Jupiter,  but  that  he  must  employ  both  art  and  violence  to 


THE   WORSHIP  AND  GODS  OF  HOME. 


extract  the  knowledge  from  them.     Accordingly  by  her 
advice  he  placed  bowls  of  wine  at  a  fountain  on  Mount 
Aventine,  whither  they  were  wont  to  come  to  drink,  and 
concealed  himself  in  a  neiehborinof  cavern.  The  rural  orods 
came  to  the  fount,  and  finding  the  wine  drank  copiously 
of  it,  thus  illustrating  in  a  striking  manner  the  sensuous 
character  always  supposed  to  dwell  in  these  deities.    They 
immediately  fell  asleep,  and  Numa,  quitdng  his   retreat, 
came  and  bound  them.  On 
awaking,     they    struggled, 
but  in  vain,  to  get  free;  and 
the  pious  prince,  apologiz- 
ing for  what  necessity  had 
obliged  him  to  do,  entreated 
that  they  would  inform  him 
how  Jupiter  was  to  be  ap- 
peased.  They  yielded  to  his 
prayer,  and  on  loosing  them 
drew  down  the  thundering 
Jupiter    by    their    charms. 
He  descended  on  the  Aven- 
tine   hill,    which    trembled 
beneath  the  weight  of  the 
deity.     Numa  was  terrified, 
but  recovering  he  implored 
the  god  to  give  a  remedy 
asfainst  the  liehtnine.    The  ruler  of  the  thunder  assented, 
and  in  ambiguous    terms   conveyed  the   relief:  "Cut  a 
head," — "of  an  onion  from  my  garden"  subjoined  the 
king, — "of   a  man," — "the   topmost   hairs"   quickly  re- 
plied  Numa. — "  I   demand  a  life," — "  of   a  fish."      The 
deity  smiled,  and  said  that  his  weapons  might  thus  be 
averted,  and  promised  a  sign  at  sun-rise  the  following 
morninof. 


- 

■- 

- 

-J 

! 

-- 

1 

1 

JUPITER  TONANS. 


178 


EI^lROR'S   CHAINS. 


At  dawn  the  people  assembled  before  the  doors  of  the 
king.  Numa  came  forth,  and,  seated  on  his  maple  throne, 
looked  for  the  rising  of  the  sun.  The  orb  of  day  was  just 
wholly  emerged  above  the  horizon,  when  a  loud  crash 
was  heard  in  the  sky ;  thrice  the  god  thundered  without 
a  cloud ;  thrice  he  sent  forth  his  lightnings.  The  heav- 
ens opened,  and  a  light  buckler  came  gently  wafted  on 
the  air,  and  fell  to  the  ground.  Numa,  having  first  slain 
a  heifer,  took  it  up  and  named  it  Ancile.  He  regarded 
it  as  the  pledge  of  empire  ;  and  having  had  eleven  others 
made  exactly  like  it  by  the  artist  Mamurius,  to  deceive 
those  who  might  attempt  to  steal  it,  committed  them  to 
the  care  of  the  priests  named  Salii. 

Jupiter  was  named  Feretrius  or  Beai-er,  as  the  spoils 
of  the  enemy's  general,  if  slain  by  a  Roman  commander, 
were  borne  to  him.  He  was  also  called  Victor  and 
Stator,  as  the  giver  of  victory  and  stayer  of  flight.  We 
also  meet  with  Jupiter  Pistor,  whose  altar  was  on  the 
capitol,  and  Jupiter  Tonans,  the  author  of  thunder.  In 
the  usual  Roman  manner,  an  historical  origin  was  given 
to  all  these  names.  Jupiter  was  called  Lucetius,  as  the 
author  of  light  [hicis),  and  Diespiter,  2.  e.,  Dies  Pater,  or 
Father  of  Day  or  of  Light. 


THE    MATRON    GODDESS. 


Juno  was  the  feminine  of  Jove — from  Jovino  we  have 
the  word  Juno.  Juno  was  one  of  the  great  deities  of 
Rome  and  had  a  share  in  the  worship  of  the  magnificent 
temple  on  the  capitol.  One  Juno  was  called  Juno  Mon- 
eta,  and  her  temple  was  finally  made  the  mint,  or  coining 
place  for  money.  Female  slaves  swore  by  the  Juno  ot 
their  mistress.  As  the  patroness  of  married  women, 
Juno  was  named  Matrona.  She  presided  over  marriage. 
Whenever  a  child  was  born  a  piece  of  money  was  de- 


THE   WORSHIP  AND  GODS  OF  ROME.  i  yg 

posited  in  her  temple's  treasury.  In  July  of  each  year 
Juno  was  honored  by  a  sacrifice.  Juno  Sospita,  the 
Protect7'ess,  was  represented  with  a  goat-skin  about  her, 
a  spear  in  her  hand,  and  a  small  shield  on  her  arm.  Juno 
was  generally  represented  armed,  and  the  Romans  usu- 
ally divided  the  hair  of  a  virgin-bride  with  a  small  spear- 
point,  thus  invoking  the  protection  of  this  goddess. 

THE    GODDESS    OF   SCHOOLS. 

All  mental  work  was  done  under  the  direction  of 
Minerva.  Her  statues  were  placed  in  the  schools,  and 
in  March  of  each  year  the  school-boys  had  five  days  as 
holidays  in  her  honor.  At  the  end  of  this  vacation  and 
festival  the  boys  gave  their  school-master  a  present  called 
a  Minerval.  Minerva's  chapel  was  under  the  same  roof 
as  Jupiter's  and  Juno's  on  the  Capitoline  hill  at  Rome. 

THE  GODDESS  OF  THE  HEARTH. 

Vesta  presided  over  the  public  and  private  hearth.  In 
Vesta's  temple  at  Rome  a  sacred  fire  was  kept  burning 
by  six  virgin-priestesses  called  Vestals.  The  Romans 
believed  that  if  they  let  this  fire  go  out,  the  city's  safety 
would  be  destroyed.  When,  through  the  neglect  of  the 
Vestals,  It  did  go  out,  they  were  severely  punished  and 
the  fire  was  relighted  by  the  rays  of  the  sun.  In  Vesta's 
temple  there  was  no  statue  of  the  goddess.  At  her 
festival  in  June,  plates  of  meat  were  sent  to  the  Vestals 
to  be  offered  up,  the  mill-stones  were  decked  with  flowers 
and  the  animals  working  the  mills  went  about  crowned 
with  violets  and  with  cakes  strung  about  their  necks. 

CERES    AND    LIBER. 

Ceres  presided  over  seeds  and  harvests.  She  was  the 
goddess  of  the  farmers.     The  country-folks  before  be- 


i8o 


ERUOK'S   CHAINS. 


ginning  harvest  kept  feasts  to  Ceres,  when  they  broughf 
offerings  of  honey-combs  covered  with  wine  and  milk, 
and  an  animal  to  be  slain  in  sacrifice.  The  offerings  were 
taken  three  times  around  the  corn-field,  the  country  people 
followin;^-,  crowned  with  oak  leaves  and  dancing  and  sing- 
ing. These  festivals  were  of  the  most  joyous  character. 
Liber  means  Deliverer.  The  god  who  had  this  name 
was  united  with  Ceres  in  worship  at  Rome.  The  Ro- 
mans worshiped  their  gods  and  goddesses  generally  in 
groups  of  three;  thus,  Jupiter,  Juno  and  Minerva  in  the 
Capitoline  temple;  and  Ceres,  Liber  and  (the  female) 
Libera  in  the  temple  at  the  foot  of  the  Aventine.  In  the 
Capitoline  temple  the  patricians  or  higher  classes  wor- 
shiped. In  the  Aventine  temple  the  plebians  or  common 
people  worshipped.  There  was  much  gross  vileness 
connected  with  all  the  festivals  of  Liber. 


THE    GOD    OF    BEGINNINGS. 

Janus  gives  his  name  to  January,  the  first  month  of 
the  year.  He  was  the  sun-god,  and  was  usually  wor- 
shiped at  the  beginning  of  any  action. 
He  was  regarded  as  the  "opener  of  the 
day."  Gates  and  doors  were  placed  un- 
der the  care  of  Janus,  and  their  keeper  is 
even  to-day  called  a  janitor.  Janus  was 
represented  with  a  key  and  a  staff,  and 
was  named  the  Opener  and  the  Shutter. 
Janus  has  two  faces.  An  ancient  statue 
of  Janus  stood  in  the  Forum  at  Rome  of 
which  the  finofers  were  so  formed  that 
one  hand  represented  three  hundred  in 
Latin  characters  (CCC),  and  those  of  the 
other,  fifty-five  (LV.),  making  together  the  number  of 
days  in  the  ancient  lunar  year. 


JANUS 


THE   WORSHIP  AND  GODS  OF  ROME. 


r8i 


Under  the  Capitol,  near  to  the  Forum,  in  Rome,  stood 
a  short  arch-way  with  a  gate  at  each  end.  In  times  of 
peace  these  gates  were  kept  shut,  in  times  of  war  they 
were  left  open.  In  this  arch-way  a  statue  of  Janus  stood. 
There  was  a  tradition  at  Rome  that  once,  when  the  ene- 
mies of  Rome  had  attempted  to  enter  the  city  by  this 
gate,  the  god  Janus  had  caused  a  stream  of  boiling  water 
to  gush  forth  from  the  earth,  and  so  drove  them  away. 

Rome's  lesser  gods. 

Besides  the  gods  above  referred  to,  there  were  gods 
and  goddesses  of  councils  of  war,  of  funerals,  of  thieves 
of  the  dawn,  of  fortune,  of  fields  and  cattle,  of  fruits  and 
flowers,  and  of  a  host  of  other  things.  But  of  all  minor 
gods,  the  Penates  and  Lares  received  most  honor.  These 
were  the  domestic  gods.  The  Penates  were  so  named 
from  the  place  in  which  they  were  worshiped,  the  house- 
hold pantry.  They  were  supposed  to  look  after  the  wel- 
fare of  the  family.  There  were  four  classes  of  beings 
from  which  men  selected  their  Penates,  those  of  heaven, 
the  sea,  the  under-world,  and  lastly,  from  the  deified 
souls  of  deceased  ancestors.  The  deified  spirits  of  de- 
parted ancestors  were  called  the  Lares,  and  they  were 
supposed  to  watch  over  the  fortunes  of  their  descend- 
ants. The  Chinese  also,  from  the  earliest  times,  have 
in  a  similar  manner  worshiped  their  departed  ancestors. 

THE    ROMAN    EMPIRE. 

As  Rome  conquered  the  world  the  gods  of  the  con- 
quered nations  were  gradually  incorporated  with  their 
own.  Thus  an  immense  and  involved  system  was 
brought  together.  Soon,  however,  the  gigantic  structure 
was  to  topple  over  before  the  coming  of  Christianity,  as 
Dagon  had  fallen  before  the  coming  of  the  ark  of  Jeho- 


l82 


EJi  HOE'S   CHAINS. 


vah  in  ancient  times.  Just  at  this  time,  the  Roman  Em 
pire  was  in  the  most  favorable  condition  for  the  introduc- 
tion of  Christianity.  Within  its  Hmits  there  was  a  general 
peace,  great  military  roads  were  built,  piracy  was  sup- 
pressed, commerce  and  traffic  generally  increased,  and 
travel  was  made  safe  and  easy.  Both  the  Latin  and  Greek 
languages  were  spread  over  east  and  west.  But  one 
other  point  of  preparation  was  of  greater  importance. 
The  deep  and  wide-spread  corruption,  brought  about  by 
the  heathen  religions,  seemed  to  be  beyond  human 
remedy.  Corruption,  cruelty,  sensuality  and  the  most 
unnatural  wickedness  prevailed.  The  description  Paul 
gives  in  his  letter  to  the  Romans  of  the  general  life  of 
the  people  has  been  confirmed  again  and  again.  He 
says: 

"Because  that,  when  they  knew  God,  they  glorified 
him  not  as  God,  neither  were  thankful ;  but  became  vain 
in  their  imaginations,  and  their  foolish  heart  was  dark- 
ened. Professing  themselves  to  be  wise,  they  became 
fools,  and  changed  the  glory  of  the  uncorruptible  God 
into  an  image,  made  like  to  corruptible  man,  and  to 
birds,  and  four-footed  beasts,  and  creeping  things.  Where- 
fore God  also  gave  them  up  to  uncleanness,  through  the 
lusts  of  their  own  hearts,  to  dishonor  their  own  bodies 
between  themselves:  who  changed  the  truth  of  God  into 
a  lie,  and  worshiped  and  served  the  creature  more  than 
the  Creator,  who  is  blessed  for  ever.  Amen,  For  this 
cause  God  gave  them  up  unto  vile  affections :  for  even 
their  women  did  change  the  natural  use  into  that  which 
is  against  nature  :  and  likewise  also  the  men,  leaving  the 
natural  use  of  the  woman,  burned  in  their  lust  one  toward 
another:  men  with  men  working  that  which  is  unseemly, 
and  receiving  in  themselves  that  recompense  of  their 
error  which  was  meet.     And  even  as  they  did  not  like  to 


THE   WORSHIP  AND  GODS  OF  ROME.  jgo 

retain  God  in  their  knowledge,  God  gave  them  over  to  a 
reprobate  mind,  to  do  those  things  which  are  not  con- 
venient; being  filled  with  all  unrighteousness,  fornica- 
tion, wickedness,  covetousness,  maliciousness ;  full  of 
envy,  murder,  debate,  deceit,  malignity;  whisperers, 
backbiters,  haters  of  God,  despiteful,  proud,  boasters,  in- 
ventors of  evil  things,  disobedient  to  parents,  without 
understanding,  covenant-breakers,  without  natural  affec- 
tion, implacable,  unmerciful :  who,  knowing  the  judgment 
of  God,  that  they  which  commit  such  things  are  worthy 
of  death,  not  only  do  the  same,  but  have  pleasure  in  them 
that  do  them." 

The  investigations  of  the  ruins  of  Pompeii  and  Hercu- 
laneum,  the  long  buried  cities,  and  the  common  accounts 
of  historians  of  Paul's  day,  all  show  that  this  picture  was 
not  at  all  overdrawn.  There  was  a  most  terrible  need  of 
Christianity  just  then  to  save  the  empire  from  falling  to 
pieces  by  reason  of  its  rottenness.  Milman  most  graph- 
ically pictures  the  change  that  Christianity  gradually 
wrought  in  the  religious  condition  of  Rome.  He  says  : 
"  Christianity  was  gradually  withdrawing  some  of  all 
orders,  even  slaves,  out  of  the  vices,  the  ignorance,  the 
misery  of  that  corrupted  social  system.  It  was  even  in- 
stilling feelings  of  humanity,  yet  unknown  or  coldly  com- 
mended by  iin  Impotent  philosophy,  among  men  and 
women  whose  infant  ears  had  been  habituated  to  the 
shrieks  of  dying  gladiators  ;  it  was  giving  dignity  to  minds 
prostrated  by  years,  almost  centuries,  of  degrading  des> 
potism  ;  it  was  nurturing  purity  and  modesty  of  manner  in 
an  unspeakable  state  of  depravation;  it  was  enshrining  the 
marriage-bed  in  a  sanctity  long  almost  entirely  lost,  and 
rekindling  to  a  steady  warmth  the  domestic  affections ;  it 
was  substituting  a  simple,  calm  and  rational  faith  for  the 
worn-out  superstitions  of  heathenism  ;  gently  establishing 


1 84 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


in  the  soul  of  man  the  sense  of  immortality,  till  it  became 
a  natural  and  inextinguishable  part  of  his  moral  being." 
With  this  striking  description  of  the  historian,  compare 
the  poetic  lines  of  Matthew  Arnold: 

"On  that  hard  pagan  world  disgust 

And  sated  loathing  fell ; 
Deep  weariness  and  sated  lust 

Make  human  life  a  hell. 
In  his  cool  hall  with  haggard  eyes 

The  Roman  noble  lay, 
He  drove  abroad  in  furious  guise 

Along  the  Appian  way. 
He  made  a  feast,  drank  fierce  and  fast, 

And  crowned  his  hair  with  flowers ; 
No  easier,  nor  no  quicker  passed 

The  impracticable  hours." 


OUR  HE  A  THEN  ANCESTORS. 


185 


CHAPTER  X. 


OUR     ANCESTORS. 


To  the  Aryan  of  the  West  not  merely  the  heavenly  bodies,  the  sun, 
moon  and  stars,  or  the  earth  with  its  trees  and  springs,  its  foun- 
tains, or  the  sea  with  its  storms  and  calms,  but  all  things  visible,  as 
organs  and  instruments  of  Deity,  were  deserving  of  reverent  adora- 
tion. Nothing  was  too  trifling.  The  quivering  leaf,  the  crackling 
flame,  the  falling  thunderbolt,  the  flight  or  song  of  birds,  the  neigh- 
ing of  horses,  man's  dreams  and  visions,  even  the  movements  of  his 
pulse,  all  claimed  attention,  all  might  give  some  sign  from  the  other 
world.  All  nature  had  a  voice  for  the  imaginative  Teuton.  The 
skies,  the  woods,  the  springs,  the  well,  the  lake,  the  hill,  were  his 
books,  his  oracles,  his  divinities. — G.  F.  INIaclear. 


IT  sounds  strange  to  us,  wlio  have  been  so  long  a 
Christian  people,  to  speak  of  a  pagan  ancestry. 
We  can  hardly  reahze  that  the  condition  in  which 
we  find  the  Japanese,  or  Chinaman,  or  Hindu  of  to-day, 
is  the  condition  In  which  our  forefathers  were  to  be 
found  not  many  centuries  ago.  Yet  all  traces  of  their 
heathenish  belief  and  practices  are  not  yet  extinct.  In 
our  language,  especially  In  many  of  our  names,  do  we 
preserve  the  relics  of  the  heathenish  life  of  our  fore- 
fathers. 

It  Is  not  easy  to  learn  of  the  earliest  religion  of  Britain, 
as  the  records  are  still  greatly  beclouded.  But  recent 
investigations  of  the  mounds  and  relics  of  old  Engfland 
and  of  the  origin  of  English  names,  together  with  the 
brlncrinof  to  Hofht  of  some  valuable  old   records,   have 


i86 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


helped  greatly  to  clear  up  the  subject.  Before  passing 
to  consider  more  particularly  the  ancient  religious  life  of 
Great  Britain,  let  us  fasten  in  our  minds  a  few  prominent 
facts  in  the  early  history  of  that  land. 

ANCIENT    BRITAIN, 

Let  us  note  several  prominent  parts  in  the  early  his- 
tory of  Britain.  First,  the  earliest  inhabitants  and  their 
religion,  known  as  Druidism.  Secondly,  the  invasion  of 
Britain  by  the  Romans  and  the  introduction  of  the  in- 
vaders' religion.  Thirdly,  the  introduction  of  Christianity. 
Fourthly,  the  coming  of  the  Saxons  and  the  extinguish- 
ing of  Christianity  by  the  Saxon  religion.  Fifthly,  the 
coming  again  and  final  victory  of  Christianity.  By  fixing 
these  points  in  mind,  we  can  without  difficulty  trace  the 
religious  history  of  our  ancestors. 

In  early  times  we  find  that  the  Greeks  had  intercourse 
with  Britain.  The  time  when  this  trade  was  carried  on 
is  fixed  by  different  authors  at  periods  varying  from  500 
B.  C.  to  200  B.  C.  Before  even  the  first  of  these  times, 
by  some  hundreds  of  years,  the  Phoenicians  of  Tyre 
visited  Britain  to  purchase  tin.  These  allusions  to  visits 
of  Greeks  and  Phoenicians  are  found  in  ancient  Welsh  tra- 
ditions handed  down  by  the  Druids.  Indeed,  some  of 
these  traditions  go  back  to  a  period  shortly  after  the  dis- 
persion of  the  nations,  even  beyond  Abraham's  day. 
Other  traditions  are  found  which  relate  even  to  the 
deluge  itself,  as  follows: 

"There  were  three  awful  events  in  the  Isle  of  Britain. 
The  first  was  the  bursting  of  the  Lake  of  Floods,  and 
the  rushing  of  an  inundation  over  all  the  lands,  until  all 
persons  were  destroyed,  except  Dwyvan  and  Dwyvack, 
who  escaped  in  an  open  vessel  and  from  them  the  Isle  of 
Britain  was  re-peopled. 


OUR  HEATHEN  ANCESTORS. 


187 


"The  three  primary  and  extraordinary  works  of  the 
Isle  of  Britain:  The  ship  of  Nwydd  nav  Neivion,  which 
brought  in  it  a  male  and  female  of  all  living  things,  when 
the  Lake  of  Floods  burst  forth;  the  large  horned  oxen 
of  Au  the  Mighty,  that  drew  the  crocodile  from  the  lake 
of  the  land,  so  that  the  lake  did  not  burst  forth  any 
more;  and  the  stone  of  Gwyddon  Ganhedon,  upon  which 
all  the  arts  and  sciences  of  the  world  are  engraven." 

All  this  bears  such  striking  similarity  to  the  traditions 
preserved  among  the  most  ancient  nations  in  the  east- 
ern part  of  the  world,  that  we  cannot  conceive  the  pos- 
sibility of  its  having  been  invented  in  any  period  of  the 
dark  ages;  it  therefore  strengthens  our  confidence  in  the 
general  teaching  of  the  Triads.  In  early  Britain  there 
were  only  two  classes  of  British  citizens,  "the  nobles  and 
the  villains,"  {i.  e.,  villagers).  All  below  these  were 
slaves.  The  people  possessed  a  considerable  knowledge 
of  astronomy,  of  geometry  and  of  mechanics.  They  were 
an  eloquent  people ;  an  ancient  historian  says  that  their 
orators  "  sometimes  step  between  two  hostile  armies,  who 
are  standing  with  swords  drawn,  and  spears  extended, 
ready  to  fight;  and,  by  their  eloquence,  as  by  an  irresisti- 
ble enchantment,  they  prevent  a  shedding  of  blood." 

The  Britons  were  also  acquainted  with  the  useful  arts. 
The  houses  in  which  they  dwelt,  their  chariots  of  war,  as 
well  as  a  great  variety  of  other  works,  prove  this  beyond 
the  possibility  of  doubt.  We  notice  the  chariots  :  "  Their 
cars  were  admired  by  the  Romans,  adopted  by  individuals 
for  their  journeys,  and  introduced  by  the  public  into  their 
races.  And  we  have  a  picture  of  one  of  them,  sketched 
by  a  British  hand,  and  engraven  on  a  coin.  There  we 
see  the  charioteer  mounted  on  his  carriage  before  us,  a 
quiver  of  arrows  peeping  over  his  left  shoulder,  and  a 
spear  protended  from  his  left  hand,  his  feet  resting  upon 


J  88  ERROR'S  CHAINS. 

the  pole  or  foot-board  annexed  to  it,  and  his  body  leaning 
over  the  horses,  in  the  act  of  accelerating  their  motion. 
And  we  have  the  description  of  another  in  Ossian,  very 
similar  in  one  or  two  particulars,' and  more  circumstan- 
tial. It  is  the  car  of  a  British  monarch,  bending  behind, 
drawn  by  a  pair  of  horses,  and  embossed  with  sparkling 
stones.  Its  beam  is  of  polished  yew,  its  seat  of  the 
smoothest  bone,  and  the  sides  of  it  are  replenished  with 
spears.  Persons  who  could  construct  such  vehicles, 
build  houses  and  make  furniture,  as  well  as  all  the  various 
offensive  and  defensive  weapons  of  war,  must  have  had 
no  inconsiderable  mechanical  knowledore  and  skill." 

THE    DRUIDS.       WONDERFLL    RESEMBLANCE. 

We  have  reason  to  believe  that  the  Britons  inhabited 
England  not  long  after  the  days  of  Noah.  We  might 
therefore  expect  to  find  resemblances  between  their  re- 
ligion and  the  religions  of  other  ancient  peoples  ;  and  we 
are  not  disappointed.  There  is  a  striking  correspondence 
between  the  system  of  the  ancient  Britons  and  those  of 
the  Hebrew  patriarchs,  the  Brahmins  of  India,  the  Magi 
of  Persia  and  the  Greek  priests.  It  was  one  system  that 
was  finally  conveyed  to  these  different  parts  of  the  globe. 
Take,  as  a  single  Instance  of  the  many  points  of  compari- 
son, their  idea  of  God.  Among  their  names  for  the  su- 
preme God  which  they  had  in  use  before  the  introduction 
of  Christianity  were  terms  which  have  been  literally  trans- 
lated, "  God,"  "  Distributor,"  "  Governor,"  "  the  Mysteri- 
ous One,"  "the  Eternal,"  "  He  that  pervadeth  all  things," 
"the  Author  of  Existence,"  "the  Ancient  of  Days." 
These  expressive  appellations  sufficiently  indicate  their 
views  of  the  moral  character  and  attributes  of  God.  The 
opinion  of  the  Druids  as  to  the  nature  of  God  is  compre- 
hensively explained  by  the  following  bold  and  remarkable 


OUR  HEATHEN  ANCESTORS. 


189 


aphorism  :  "  Nid  Dim  Ond  Duw,  Nid  Duw  Ond  Dim."  It 
defies  translation  so  as  to  convey  its  force  and  beauty; 
but  William  Owen  has  furnished  a  version  sufficiently 
plain  to  convey  the  idea:  "God  cannot  be  matter;  what 
is  not  matter  must  be  God."  These  were  the  attributes  of 
the  God  of  the  early  Druids.  They  believed  that  the 
Deity  was  the  source  of  life,  and  the  giver  of  good.  They 
defined  His  duration  as  eternal,  and  ascribed  to  Him 
omnipotence  as  the  measure  of  His  power.  And  as  they 
found  nothing  in  the  animal  creation  or  in  man  which  had 
any  proportion  or  resemblance  to  God,  they  had  neither 
statues  nor  pictures  to  represent  Him ;  from  which  we 
infer  that  they  regarded  God  as  a  pure  spirit,  as  disen- 
ofaofed  from  matter  as  He  was  exalted  above  all  created 
things  and  above  all  resemblance  to  them. 

WORSHIP   OF   THE    DRUIDS. 

The  Druids  offered  sacrifices  and  observed  particular 
days  for  religious  worship.  Their  sacrifices  were  care- 
fully selected,  and  they  appear  to  have  had  clear  views  of 
their  propitiatory  character.  PHny,  describing  the  gath- 
ering of  the  mistletoe,  observes:  "After  they  have  well 
and  duly  prepared  their  festival  cheer  under  the  tree, 
they  bring  thither  two  young  bullocks,  milk  white,  such 
as  never  drew  in  yoke  at  plow  or  wain,  and  whose 
heads  were  then  and  not  before  bound  by  the  horns ; 
which  done,  the  priest,  arrayed  in  a  white  vesture, 
climbeth  up  into  the  tree,  and,  with  a  golden  hook  or  bill, 
cutteth  it  off,  and  they  beneath  receive  it  in  a  white  cas- 
sock or  coat  of  arms.  Then  they  fall  to  and  kill  the 
beasts  aforesaid  for  sacrifice,  praying  devoutly  that  it 
would  please  God  to  bless  this  gift  of  His  to  the  good 
and  benefit  of  all  those  to  whom  He  had  vouchsafed  to 
give  it."     These  sacrifices  were  offered  with  very  solemn 


.go  ERROR'S  CHAINS. 

rites,  the  common  people  remaining  at  a  distance,  while 
the  priests  approached  with  trembling  awe  the  bloody 
victims,  which  were  carried  around  the  omen-fire. 

There  is  no  branch  of  this  subject  which  presents 
itself  in  a  more  interesting  aspect  than  that  which  relates 
to  the  sacred  places  of  this  people,  and  the  peculiar  man- 
ner of  their  worship.  They  worshiped  in  the  open  air; 
it  beine  a  maxim  with  them,  that  it  was  unlawful  to  build 
temples  to  the  gods,  or  to  worship  them  within  walls  and 
under  roofs.  Their  favorite  place  was  a  grove  of  oaks, 
or  the  shelter  of  a  majestic  tree  of  this  kind.  Here  they 
would  erect  stone  pillars  in  one  or  two  circular  rows ;  and 
In  some  of  their  prmcipal  temples,  as  particularly  that  of 
Stonehenge,  they  laid  stones  of  prodigious  weight  on  the 
tops  of  these  perpendicular  pillars,  which  formed  a  kind 
of  circle  aloft  in  the  air.  Near  to  these  temples  they 
constructed  their  sacred  mounts,  their  cromlechs  or  stone 
tables  for  their  sacrifices,  and  every  other  necessary  pro- 
vision for  their  w^orship.  These  sacred  places  were 
generally  situated  in  the  centre  of  some  thick  grove  or 
wood,  watered  by  a  consecrated  river  or  fountain,  and 
surrounded  by  a  ditch  or  mound,  to  prevent  intrusion. 

TEMPLE    OF   THE    HANGING    STONES. 

One  of  the  most  extraordinary  monuments  of  ancient 
England,  is  that  called  Stonehenge.  This  is  an  Anglo- 
Saxon  term,  meaning  the  hanging  stones.  This  monu- 
ment is  situated  on  a  small  hill  in  the  midst  of  a  barren 
plain.  All  around  it  funeral  mounds  are  grouped.  These 
mounds  are  called  "barrows,"  and  within  three  miles  of 
Stonehenge  there  are  over  three  hundred  and  fifty  of 
these  that  have  been  recently  discovered.  The  stones 
that  constituted  this  Druid  temple  are  many  of  them 
lying  prostrate  on  the  ground,  a  few  only  remaining  up- 


OUR  HEATHEN  ANCESTORS. 


191 


right  with  the  gigantic  stone  slabs  across  their  tops.  Yet 
enough   remains  to  indicate  the  general   design  of  the 


structure  as  it  originally  stood.     It  consisted  of  an  outer 
circle,  about  three   hundred  feet  in  diameter,  of  thirty 


JQ2  EJ?JiOJi'S   CHAINS. 

upright  stones  sustaining  as  many  others  laid  horizontally 
on  their  tops.  Within  this  was  another  circle  of  upright 
ones,  smaller  than  those  in  the  outer  circle,  and  without 
any  stones  on  their  tops.  These  stones  are  so  large  that 
it  cannot  be  imagined  how  they  were  raised  to  their  lofty 
position.  It  is  very  evident  that  Stonehenge  was  a  place 
of  worship,  and  from  the  number  of  grave-mounds;  each 
containing  the  remains  of  a  number  of  bodies,  it  is  evi- 
dent that  it  was  a  place  of  great  sanctity.  It  has  been 
supposed  that  serpent-worship  found  a  place  here. 

HUMAN    SACRIFICES. 

Caesar  gives  a  very  careful  account  of  the  Druids.  In 
the  century  just  preceding  the  coming  of  Christ,  Caesar 
conquered  the  Britons.  His  account  of  their  condition 
is  the  more  reliable  because  this  conquest  put  him  in 
possession  of  the  means  of  knowing  the  people  who  were 
in  the  future  to  form  a  part  of  his  empire.  His  testimony 
can  best  be  given  in  a  translation  of  his  own  words.  He 
says: 

'•  All  the  Gallic  nations  are  much  given  to  superstition ; 
for  which  reason,  when  they  are  seriously  ill,  or  are  in 
danger  from  their  wars  or  other  causes,  they  either  offer 
up  men  as  victims  to  the  gods,  or  make  a  vow  to  sacrifice 
themselves.  The  ministers  in  these  offerings  are  the 
Druids,  and  they  hold  that  the  wrath  of  the  immortal  gods 
can  only  be  appeased,  and  man's  life  be  redeemed,  by 
offering  up  human  sacrifice,  and  it  is  a  part  of  their 
national  institutions  to  hold  fixed  solemnities  for  this 
purpose.  Some  of  them  make  immense  images  of  wicker- 
work,  which  they  fill  with  men,  who  are  thus  burned  alive 
in  offering  to  their  deities.  These  victims  are  generally 
selected  from  those  who  have  been  convicted  of  theft, 
robbery,  or  other  crimes,  in  whose  punishment  they  think 


OUR  HEATHEN  ANCESTORS. 


193 


the  immortal  gods  take  the  greatest  pleasure  ;  but  if  there 
be  any  scarcity  of  such  victims  they  do  not  hesitate  to 
sacrifice  innocent  men  in  their  place.  If  there  be  a  super- 
abundance of  cattle  taken  in  war  the  surplus  is  offered  up 
in  sacrifice  ;  the  rest  of  the  spoil  is  collected  into  one  mass. 
In  many  of  their  tribes  large  heaps  of  these  things  may 
be  seen  in  their  consecrated  places,  and  it  is  a  rare  occur- 
rence for  any  individual  sacreligiously  to  conceal  part  of 
the  booty,  or  to  turn  it  to  his  own  use ;  the  severest  pun- 
ishment, together  with  bodily  torture,  is  inflicted  on  those 
who  are  guilty  of  such  an  offense." 

He  further  speaks  of  the  Druids  in  another  place: 
"  The  Druids  act  in  all  sacred  matters ;  they  attend  to 
the  sacrifices,  which  are  either  offered  by  the  tribe  in 
general  or  by  individuals,  and  answer  all  questions  con- 
cerning their  religion.  They  always  have  a  large  number 
of  young  men  as  pupils,  who  treat  them  with  the  greatest 
respect ;  for  it  is  they  who  decide  in  all  controversies, 
whether  public  or  private,  and  they  judge  all  causes, 
whether  of  murder,  of  a  disputed  inheritance,  or  of  the 
boundaries  of  estates.  They  assign  both  rewards  and 
punishments;  and  whoever  refuses  to  abide  by  their  sen- 
tence, whether  he  be  in  a  public  or  private  station,  is 
forbidden  to  be  present  at  the  sacrifices  of  the  gods. 
This  is,  in  fact,  the  most  severe  mode  of  punishment,  and 
those  who  have  been  thus  excommunicated  are  held  as 
impious  and  profane  ;  all  avoid  them  ;  no  one  will  either 
meet  them  or  speak  to  them,  lest  they  should  be  injured 
by  their  contagion ;  every  species  of  honor  is  withheld 
from  them,  and  if  they  are  plaintiffs  in  a  lawsuit  justice  is 
denied.  All  the  Druids  are  subject  to  one  chief,  who 
enjoys  the  greatest  authority  among  them.  Upon  the 
death  of  the  chief  Druid,  the  next  in  dignity  is  appointed 
to  succeed  him;  and  if  there  are  two  whose  merits  are 


194 


EA'KOR'S   CHAINS. 


equal,  the  election  is  made  by  the  votes  of  the  whole 
body,  though  sometimes  they  dispute  for  pre-eminence 
by  the  sword. 

"The  Druidic  system  is  thought  to  have  had  its  origin 
in  Britain,  from  whence  it  was  introduced  into  Gaul.  .  .  . 
Among  the  most  important  doctrines  of  the  Druids  is  that 
of  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  which  they  believe  passes 
after  death  into  other  bodies ;  they  hold  this  to  be  a  great 
inducement  to  the  practice  of  virtue,  as  the  mind  thus 
becomes  relieved  from  the  fear  of  death.  Their  other 
doctrines  concern  the  motions  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  the 
magnitude  of  the  earth  and  the  universe,  the  nature  of 
things,  and  the  power  and  attributes  of  the  immortal 
gods."  Certainly  Caesar's  testimony  is  clear,  and  he 
writes  as  one  who  had  actually  gazed  upon  the  strange 
and  strikino-  scenes  which  he  describes. 

THE    DESTRUCTION    OF    DRUIDISM. 

The  religion  of  the  Druids  was  handed  down  by  tra- 
dition from  father  to  son,  and  consisted  in  the  proper 
performance  of  certain  rites  and  ceremonies.  It  has 
been  stated  that  the  Druids  worshiped  Bel  or  Baal, 
though  this  is  sometimes  questioned.  On  the  eve  of 
May-day  fires  were  lighted  on  their  altars  in  honor  of 
their  Supreme  God.  They  had  a  set  of  doctrines  which 
were  publicly  taught,  and  another  set  which  were  made 
known  only  to  the  initiated.  The  Druids  were  not  gross 
idolaters,  though  they  regarded  the  oak,  the  symbol  of 
(jod,  with  superstitious  awe.  But  the  time  for  the  death 
of  Dfuidism  had  come.  Fifty-five  years  before  Christ,  the 
great  conqueror,  Julius  Caesar,  landed  in  Britain.  The 
skillful  and  courageous  Britons  gave  him  a  great  deal  of 
trouble,  and  prevented  his  penetrating  far  from  the  shore. 
Emperor  after  emperor  sought  to  subjugate  the  Island 


OUR  HEATHEN  ANCESTORS. 


195 


during  the  years  that  followed,  but  it  was  not  until  130 
years  had  passed  away  that  Briton  was  really  conquered 
by  the  Romans.  Agricola  was  sent  in  A.  D.  78  to  be 
govenor  of  Britain.  By  his  wise  policy  the  whole  life  of 
the  Britons  was  changed  wherever  it  came  under  Roman 
influence. 

The  dwellings  of  the  Britons  were  very  rude  and 
simple  in  the  early  ages,  being  mostly  constructed  of 
hurdle  or  wicker-work,  and  afterward  of  large  stones 
without  mortar.  Their  houses  were  generally  round, 
having  the  roof  thatched,  with  a  hole  left  in  the  centre 
for  the  escape  of  smoke.  The  Romans,  on  the  contrary, 
had  long  been  accustomed  to  commodious  and  elegant 
dwellings,  well  built  of  masonry,  and  adorned  in  the 
richest  manner  with  statues,  pictures,  elegant  drapery  and 
handsome  furniture. 

It  was  not  while  the  Romans  were  engaged  in  con- 
quering Britain  that  their  religion  gained  a  foothold  there, 
but  after  they  had  come  to  power  and  peace.  The  Druid 
priests  were  destroyed,  and  the  people,  left  thus  without 
religious  teachers,  gradually  accepted  to  some  extent  the 
then-existinof  forms  of  Roman  faith. 

WHO    FIRST    BROUGHT   CHRISTIANITY    TO    BRITAIN? 

While  the  Romans  were  busily  seeking  to  conquer 
Britain,  an  event  of  unparalleled  importance  took  place. 
It  was  the  birth  of  Jesus,  the  Christ.  Very  nearly  every 
one  of  the  early  preachers  who  by  any  possibility  could 
have  gone  to  Britain  with  the  Gospel  message,  has  been 
declared  to  be  the  founder  of  Christianity  there.  The 
Apostle  Peter  is  declared,  so  says  an  old  chronicle,  "  to 
have  stayed  some  time  in  Britain ;  where  having  preached 
the  word,  established  churches,  ordained  bishops,  priests 
and  deacons,  in  the  twelfth  year  of  Nero  he  returned  to 


196 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


Rome."  But  this,  for  many  reasons,  is  not  to  be  believed. 
Joseph  of  Arimathea  is  also  said  to  have  first  taken  the 
Gospel  to  Britain.  But  the  whole  narrative  of  his  mis- 
sion is  fabulous.  A  King  Lucius  is  said  to  have  sent 
about  164  A.  D.  to  Rome  for  missionaries,  but  this  too  is 
questionable.  One  more  question  remains  to  be  con- 
sidered. Did  the  Apostle  Paul  plant  Christianity  in 
Britain?  Tertullian,  about  the  year  200  A.  D.,  v^rote  that 
the  Gospel  had  spread  "also  to  the  boundaries  of  the 
Spaniards,  to  all  the  different  nations  of  Gaul,  and  to 
those  parts  of  Britain  inaccessible  even  to  the  Romans." 
But  more  ancient  than  this  is  the  testimony  of  Clement, 
Bishop  of  Rome,  102  A.  D.  "St.  Paul  preached  right- 
eousness through  the  whole  world;  and,  in  doing  this, 
went  to  the  utmost  bounds  of  the  West." 

A  learned  writer  thus  sums  up  all  the  evidence  of 
Paul's  being  the  first  to  give  the  Gospel  to  Britain : 
"  That  St.  Paul  did  go  to  Britain  we  may  collect  from  the 
testimony  of  Clemens  Romanus,  Theodoret  and  Jerome, 
who  relate  that,  after  his  imprisonment,  he  preached  the 
Gospel  in  the  western  parts;  that  he  brought  salvation 
to  the  islands  that  lie  in  the  ocean,  and  that,  in  preaching 
the  Gospel,  he  went  to  the  utmost  bounds  of  the  West. 
What  was  meant  by  the  West  and  the  islands  that  lie  in 
the  ocean,  we  may  judge  from  Plutarch,  Eusebius  and 
Nicephorus,  who  call  the  British  Ocean  the  western;  and 
again  from  Nicephorus,  who  says  that  one  of  the  apostles 
'went  to  the  extreme  countries  of  the  ocean  and  the 
British  Isles ;'  but  especially  from  the  words  of  Catullus, 
who  calls  Britain  the  utmost  island  of  the  West;  and 
from  Theodoret,  who  describes  the  Britons  as  inhabiting 
the  utmost  parts  of  the  West.  When  Clement,  therefore, 
says  that  Paul  went  to  the  utmost  bounds  of  the  West, 
we  do  not  conjecture,  but  are  sure,  that  he  meant  Britain, 


OUR  HEATHEN  ANCESTORS. 


197 


not  only  because  Britain  was  so  designated,  but  because 
Paul  could  not  have  gone  to  the  utmost  bounds  of  the 
West  without  going  to  Britain.  It  is  almost  unnecessary, 
therefore,  to  appeal  to  the  express  testimony  of  Venan- 
tius,  Fortunatus  and  Sophronius,  for  the  apostle's  journey 
to  Britain." 

PAGANISM    OF   THE    SAXONS. 

The  reliorion  of  our  Saxon  ancestors  was  the  same  as 
that  of  the  whole  German  family.  Christianity,  which 
had  by  this  time  brought  about  the  conversion  of  the 
Roman  Empire,  had  not  penetrated  as  yet  among  the 
forests  of  the  North.  The  common  god  of  the  English 
people,  as  of  the  whole  German  race,  was  Woden,  the 
war-god,  the  guardian  of  ways  and  boundaries,  to  whom 
his  worshipers  attributed  the  invention  of  letters,  and 
whom  every  tribe  held  to  be  the  first  ancestor  of  its 
kings.  Our  own  names  for  the  days  of  the  week  still 
recall  to  us  the  gods  whom  our  English  fathers  wor- 
shiped in  their  Sleswick  homeland.  Wednesday  is  Wo- 
den's day,  as  Thursday  is  the  day  of  Thunder,  or,  as  the 
Northmen  called  him,  Thor,  the  god  of  air,  and  storm,  and 
rain.  Friday  is  Freya's  day,  the  goddess  of  peace,  and 
joy,  and  fruitfulness,  whose  emblems,  borne  aloft  by 
dancing,  maidens,  brought  increase  to  every  field  and 
stall  they  visited.  Saturday  commemorates  an  obscure 
god,  Soetere;  Tuesday,  the  Dark  god,  Tiw,  to  meet 
whom  was  death;  Eostre,  the  goddess  of  the  dawn,  or 
the  spring,  lends  her  name  to  the  Christian  festival  of  the 
Resurrection.  Behind  these  floated  the  dim  shapes  of 
an  older  mythology — "Wyrd,"  the  death- goddess,  whose 
memory  lingered  long  in  the  "weird"  of  northern  super- 
stition, or  the  Shield  Maidens,  the  ''  mighty  women,"  who, 
an  old  rhyme  tells  us,  "wrought  on  the  battle-field  their 


198 


£JiJiOK'S   CHAWS. 


toil,  and  hurled  the  thrilling  javelins."  Nearer  to  the 
popular  fancy  lay  the  deities  of  wood  and  fell,  or  the  hero- 
gods  of  legend  and  song,  "Nicor,"  the  water-sprite,  who 
gave  us  our  water  nixies,  and  "Old  Nick,"  "Weland," 


the  forger  of  mighty  shields  and  sharp-biting  swords,  at 
a  later  time,  in  his  Berkshire,  "  Weyland's  Smithy,  "  or 
^gil,  the  hero  archer,  whose  legend  is  that  of  Cloudesly 
or  Tell.     A  nature- worship  of  this  sort  lent  itself  ill  to 


OUR  HE  A  THEN  ANCESTORS.  j 

the  purposes  of  a  priesthood,  and,  though  a  priestly  class 
existed,  it  seems  at  no  time  to  have  had  much  weight  in 
the  English  society.  As  every  freeman  was  his  own 
judge  and  his  own  legislator,  so  he  was  his  own  house 
priest;  and  the  common  English  worship  lay  in  the  sac- 
rifice which  he  offered  to  the  god  of  his  hearth.  The 
religion  of  Woden  and  Thor  supplanted,  for  the  time 
being,  the  religion  of  Christ,  The  new  England  was  once 
more  a  heathen  land  under  the  gods  of  its  conquerors. 

SAXON    GODS. 

The  first  of  all  the  gods  was  Woden  or  Odin.  He  is 
the  All-father,  like  Dyans  of  the  early  Hindus,  Zeus  of 
the  Greeks  and  Jove  of  the  Romans.  In  the  Volsung 
Saga,  Woden  is  revealed  as  follows  :  King  Volsung  had 
made  preparation  for  an  entertainment.  Blazing  fires 
burned  along  the  hall,  and  in  the  middle  of  the  hall  stood 
a  large  tree,  whose  green  and  fair  foliage  covered  the 
roof.  It  was  called  Woden's  tree.  Now,  as  the  guests 
sat  around  the  fire  in  the  evening,  a  man  entered  the 
hall  whose  countenance  they  did  not  know.  He  wore  a 
variegated  cloak,  was  barefooted,  his  breeches  were  of 
linen,  and  a  wide-brimmed  hat  hunof  down  over  his  face. 
He  was  very  tall,  looked  old,  and  was  one-eyed.  He 
held  in  his  hand  a  sword.  He  went  to  the  tree,  stuck 
his  sword  into  it  with  such  a  powerful  blow  that  it  sunk 
into  it  even  up  to  the  hilt.  No  one  dared  greet  him.  It 
was  Woden.  Woden's  dwellincr  was  called  Walhal.  The 
Edda,  the  poem  of  the  gods,  thus  describes  Walhalla: 

"Easily  to  be  known  is. 
By  those  who  to  Odin  come, 
The  mansion  by  its  aspect. 
Its  roof  with  spears  is  held. 
Its  hall  with  shields  is  decked, 
With  corselets  are  its  benches  strewed. 


200  ERROR'S   CHAINS. 

"Five  hundred  doors 
And  forty  more 
Methinks  are  in  Walhal, 
Eight  hundred  heroes  through  each  door 
Shall  issue  forth  I 
Against  the  wolf  to  combat." 

The  heroes  are  invited  after  death  to  Woden's  hall. 
That  the  brave  were  to  be  taken  to  Walhalla  after  death 
was  one  of  the  fundamental  points,  if  not  the  very  heart 
of  the  religion  of  the  Northmen.  They  felt  in  their  hearts 
that  it  was  absolutely  necessary  to  be  brave.  Woden 
would  not  care  for  them,  but  would  despise  and  thrust 
them  away  from  him,  if  they  were  not  brave.  This  made 
the  Northmen  think  it  a  shame  and  misery  not  to  die  in 
battle.  Old  kings,  about  to  die,  had  their  bodies  placed 
in  a  ship  ;  the  ship  was  sent  forth  with  sails  set,  and  a 
slow  fire  burning  in  it,  so  that  once  out  at  sea  it  might 
blaze  up  in  flame,  and  in  such  a  way  worthily  bury  the 
hero  both  in  the  sky  and  in  the  ocean.  He  lay  in  the 
prow  of  his  ship,  silent,  with  closed  lips,  defying  the  wild 
ocean.     As  Boyesen  has  sung : 

"In  the  prow  with  head  uplifted 

Stood  the  chief  like  wrathful  Thor  ; 
Through  his  locks,  the  snow-flakes  drifted, 

Bleached  their  hue  from  gold  to  hoar, 
'Mid  the  crash  of  mast  and  rafter 
Norsemen  leaped  through  death  with  laughter 

Up  through  Walhal's  wide-flung  door." 

Thor  comes  next  to  Woden.  His  name  means  thunder. 
He  is  the  spring-god,  subduing  the  frost-giants.  Long- 
fellow has  described  the  Norseman's  idea  of  Thor,  thus: 

"I  am  the  god  Thor,  I  am  the  war-god. 
I  am  the  Thunderer!  here  in  my  Northland, 
My  fastness  and  fortress,  reign  I  forever ! 


OUR  HEATHEN  ANCESTORS.  20I 

**nere  amid  icebergs  rule  I  the  nations; 
This  is  my  hammer,  Mjolner,  the  mighty, 
Giants  and  sorcerers  cannot  withstand  it! 

"These  are  the  gauntlets  wherewith  I  wield  it. 
And  hurl  it  afar  off;  this  is  my  girdle, 
Whenever  I  brace  it  strength  is  redoubled ! 

"The  light  thou  beholdest  stream  through  the  heavens, 
]n  flashes  of  crimson,  is  but  my  red  beard, 
Blown  by  the  night-wind,  affrighting  the  nations. 

"Jove  is  my  brother;  mine  eyes  are  the  lightning; 
The  wheels  of  my  chariot  roll  in  the  thunder, 
The  blows  of  my  hammer  ring  in  the  earthquake ! 

"Force  rules  the  world  still,  has  ruled  it,  shall  rule  it; 
Meekness  is  weakness,  strength  is  triumphant; 
Over  the  whole  earth  still  is  Thor's-day!" 

SAXON    SACRIFICES. 

The  sacrifices  which  were  presented  to  the  gods  in 
the  early  ages  were  very  simple,  and  such  as  a  people 
in  the  first  stages  of  civilization  would  offer — the  first 
fruits  of  their  crops,  and  the  choicest  products  of  the 
earth.  They  also  sacrificed  animals.  They  offered  to 
Thor,  during  the  feast  of  Jaul,  fat  oxen  and  horses;  to 
Frigga,  the  largest  hog  which  they  could  procure;  to 
Odin,  horses,  dogs  and  falcons,  sometimes  cocks,  and  a 
fat  bull.  They  even  proceeded  at  times  to  shed  human 
blood.  The  victims  were  usually  chosen  from  captives 
in  time  of  war,  and  slaves  during  peace.  After  being 
selected,  they  were  treated  with  excessive  kindness,  until 
the  time  of  their  execution,  when  they  were  congratu- 
lated on  their  happy  destiny  in  a  future  life.  On  great 
emergencies,  however,  nobles  and  kings  were  immolated 
on  the  altars  of  the  gods.  On  all  these  occasions  the 
priests  took  care,  in  consecrating  the  victim,  to  pronounce 


202 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


SACRIFICIAL  RITES  OF  THE  ANCIENT  BRITISH  DRUIDS. 

certain  words;  such  as,  "I  devote  thee  to  Odin;"  "I  send 
thee  to  Odin;"  or,  "1  devote  thee  for  a  good  harvest,  for 


OUR  HEATHEN  ANCESTORS. 


20 


the  return  of  a  fruitful  season."  The  ceremony  con- 
cluded with  feasting,  during  which  they  drank  immoder- 
ately. First,  the  kings  and  chief  lords  drank  healths  in 
honor  of  the  gods;  afterward,  every  one  drank,  making 
song  or  prayer  to  the  gods  who  had  been  named.  After 
the  victim  was  slain,  the  body  was  burnt,  or  suspended 
in  a  sacred  grove  near  the  temple ;  part  of  the  blood  was 
sprinkled  upon  the  people,  part  upon  the  sacred  grove. 
With  the  same  they  also  bedewed  the  images  of  the  gods, 
the  altars,  the  benches  and  walls  of  the  temple,  both 
within  and  without,  tlius  completing  their  work. 

FAIRY-LORE    OF    WESTERN    EURORE. 

The  Saxons  and  their  kindred,  the  Teutons  and  the 
Celts,  have  a  great  mass  of  fairy  tales,  legends,  hobgoblin 
stories  and  the  like.  These  tales  enter  more  into  the  life 
of  the  people  than  we  are  accustomed  to  believe.  While 
the  stronger  men,  the  soldiers  of  the  race,  told  their  old 
Viking  tales  or  recited  their  Eddas'  poems,  the  common 
people  told  over  and  over  again  the  tales  of  the  little 
beings  who  haunted  hill  and  meadow,  field  and  forest, 
lake  and  river. 

The  tales  and  superstitions  of  the  early  Britons  were 
intimately  related  to  their  religious  ideas,  and  exerted  as 
powerful  an  influence  on  their  lives  as  their  belief  in  the 
gods.  So  it  is  in  keeping  with  our  subject  that  we  pro- 
ceed to  present  some  of  these  fairy  tales  and  legends, 
Shakespeare  has  preserved  ancient  and  quaint  tradidons 
of  the  Fairies  and  Puck,  and  of  Mab,  Queen  of  the 
Fairies,  from  which  we  quote. 

"Fairy. — Either  I  mistake  your  shape  and  making  quite, 
Or  else  you  are  that  shrewd  and  knavish  sprite 
Call'd  Robin  Good-fellow.     Are  you  not  he 
That  frights  the  maidens  of  the  villagery. 


204 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 

Skims  milk,  and  sometimes  labors  in  the  quern, 
And  bootless  makes  the  breathless  housewife  churn ; 
And  sometimes  makes  the  drink  to  bear  no  harm ; 
Misleads  night-wanderers,  laughing  at  their  harm  ? 
Those  that  Hobgoblin  call  you,  and  sweet  Puck, 
You  do  their  work,  and  they  shall  have  good  luck, 
Are  not  you  he  ? 

Puck. — Thou  speakest  aright, 
I  am  that  merry  wanderer  of  the  night. 
I  jest  to  Oberon,  and  make  him  smile, 
When  I  a  fat  and  bean-fed  horse  beguile, 
Neighing  in  likeness  of  a  filly-foal ; 
And  sometimes  lurk  I  in  a  gossip's  bowl, 
In  very  likeness  of  a  roasted  crab. 
And  when  she  drinks,  against  her  lips  I  bob, 
And  on  her  withered  durlap  pour  the  ale. 
The  wisest  aunt,  telling  the  saddest  tale, 
Sometimes  for  three-foot  stool  mistaketh  me ; 
Then  slip  I  from  her  bum — down  topples  she, 
And  tailor  cries,  and  falls  into  a  cough ; 
And  then  the  whole  quire  hold  their  hips  and  laffe, 
And  waxen  in  their  mirth,  and  neeze  and  swear, 
A  merrier  hour  was  never  wasted  there. 

O  then,  I  see  Queen  Mab  hath  been  with  you. 
She  is  the  fairies'  midwife ;  and  she  comes. 
In  shape  no  bigger  than  an  agate  stone 
On  the  forefinger  of  an  alderman. 
Drawn  with  a  team  of  little  atomies, 
Over  men's  noses  as  they  lie  asleep  : 
Her  wagon-spokes,  made  of  long  spinner's  legs; 
The  cover,  of  the  wings  of  grasshoppers  ; 
The  traces,  of  the  smallest  spider's  web  ; 
The  collars  of  the  moonshines'  watery  beams; 
Her  whip  of  cricket's  bone  ;  the  lash  of  film; 
Her  wagoner,  a  small  gray-coated  gnat. 
Not  half  so  big  as  a  round  little  worm 
Pricked  from  the  lazy  finger  of  a  maid  : 
Her  chariot  is  an  empty  hazel  nut, 
Made  by  the  joiner  squirrel  or  old  grub, 
Time  out  of  mind  the  fairies'  coachmakers. 


OUR  HE  A  THEN  ANCESTORS.  205 

This  is  that  very  Mab 
That  plats  the  manes  of  horses  in  the  night ; 
And  bakes  the  elflocks  in  foul  sluttish  hairs, 
Which  once  untangled  much  misfortune  bode. 
This  is  the  hag,  when  maids  lie  on  their  backs, 
That  presses  them." 

A  few  of  the  very  many  fairy  tales  once  current  in  Old 
England  and  in  Western  Europe  generally,  may  well  be 
given  here  in  illustration  of  their  general  character. 

AN    ELFIN    STORY. 

There  was  one  time,  it  is  said,  a  servant  girl,  who  was, 
for  her  cleanly,  tidy  habits,  greatly  beloved  by  the  Elves, 
particularly  as  she  was  careful  to  carry  away  all  dirt  and 
foul  water  to  a  distance  from  the  house,  and  they  once 
invited  her  to  a  wedding.  Everything  was  conducted  in 
the  greatest  order,  and  they  made  her  a  present  of  some 
chips,  which  she  took  good-humoredly,  and  put  into  her 
pocket.  But  when  the  bride-pair  were  coming,  there  was 
a  straw  unluckily  lying  in  the  way ;  the  bridegroom  got 
cleverly  over  it,  but  the  poor  bride  fell  on  her  face.  At 
the  sight  of  this,  the  girl  could  not  restrain  herself,  but 
burst  out  a-laughing,  and  that  instant  the  whole  vanished 
from  her  sight.  Next  day,  to  her  utter  amazement,  she 
found  that  what  she  had  taken  to  be  nothing  but  chips 
were  so  many  pieces  of  pure  gold. 

THE    PENITENT   NIS. 

It  is  related  of  a  Nis,  who  had  established  himself  in  a 
house  in  Jutland,  that  he  used  every  evening,  after  the 
maid  was  gone  to  bed,  to  go  into  the  kitchen  to  take  his 
groute,  which  they  used  to  leave  there  for  him  in  a  large 
wooden  bowl. 

One  evening,  he  sat  down  as  usual  to  eat  his  supper 


2o5  ERROR'S   CHAINS. 

with  a  good  appetite,  drew  over  the  bowl  to  him,  and  was 
just  beginning,  as  he  tliought,  to  make  a  comfortable 
meal,  when  he  found  that  the  maid  had  forgotten  to  put 
any  butter  in  it  for  him.  At  this,  he  fell  into  a  furious 
rage,  got  up  in  the  height  of  his  passion,  and  went  out 
into  the  cow-house  and  twisted  the  neck  of  the  best  cow 
that  was  in  it ;  but  as  he  felt  himself  still  very  hungry,  he 
stole  back  again  to  the  kitchen  to  take  some  of  the  groute, 
such  as  it  was,  and  when  he  had  eaten  a  little  of  it  he 
perceived  that  there  was  butter  in  it,  but  that  it  had  sunk 
to  the  bottom  under  the  groute.  He  was  now  so  vexed 
at  his  injustice  toward  the  maid  that,  to  make  good  the 
damac^e  he  had  done,  he  went  back  to  the  cow-house  and 
set  a  chest  full  of  money  by  the  side  of  the  dead  cow, 
where  the  family  found  it  next  morning,  and  by  means  of 
it  got  into  flourishing  circumstances. 

NIXES. 

The  Nixes,  or  Water-people,  inhabit  lakes  and  rivers. 
The  man  is  like  any  other  man,  only  he  has  green 
teeth.  He  also  wears  a  green  hat.  The  female  Nixes 
appear  like  beautiful  maidens.  On  fine  sunny  days  they 
may  be  seen  sitting  on  the  banks,  or  on  the  branches  of 
the  trees,  combing  their  long  golden  locks.  When  any 
person  is  shortly  to  be  drowned  the  Nixes  may  be  pre- 
viously seen  dancing  on  the  surface  of  the  water.  They 
inhabit  a  beautiful  region  below  the  water,  whither  they 
sometimes  convey  mortals.  A  girl  from  a  village  near 
Leipsic,  as  the  story  goes,  was  at  one  time  at  service  in 
the  house  of  a  Nix.  She  reported  that  everything  there 
was  very  good ;  all  she  had  to  complain  of  was  that  she 
was  obliged  to  eat  her  food  without  salt.  The  female 
Nixes  frequently  goto  the  market  to  buy  meat;  they  are 
always  dressed  with  extreme  neatness,  only  a  corner  of 


OUR  HEATHEN  ANCESTORS. 


207 


the  apron  or  some  other  part  of  their  clothes  is  wet  The 
man  also  occasionally  goes  to  market.  They  are  fond  of 
carrying  off  women,  of  whom  they  make  wives.  From 
the  many  tales  of  the  Nixes  we  select  the  following, 
which  are  fair  specimens  of  the  whole. 

THE    PEASANT   AND   THE   WATERMAN. 

A  Waterman,  or  Nix,  once  lived  on  good  terms  with  a 
peasant  who  dwelt  near  his  lake.  He  often  visited  him, 
and  at  last  begged  that  the  peasant  would  make  a  visit  to 
his  house  under  the  water.  The  peasant  consented,  and 
went  down  witn  him.  There  was  everything  down  under 
the  water  as  in  a  stately  palace  on  the  land — halls,  cham- 
bers and  cabinets,  with  costly  furniture  of  every  descrip- 
tion. The  Waterman  led  his  guest  over  the  whole,  and 
showed  him  everything  that  was  in  it.  They  came  at  length 
to  a  little  chamber,  where  were  standing  several  new  pots 
turned  upside  down.  The  peasant  asked  what  was  in 
them.  "  They  contain,"  was  the  reply,  "  the  souls  of 
drowned  people,  which  I  put  under  the  pots  and  keep 
them  close,  so  that  they  cannot  get  away."  The  peasant 
made  no  remark,  and  he  came  up  again  on  the  land.  But 
for  a  long  time  the  affair  of  the  souls  continued  to  give 
him  great  trouble,  and  he  watched  to  find  when  the 
Waterman  should  be  from  home.  When  this  occurred, 
as  he  had  marked  the  right  way  down,  he  descended  into 
the  water-house,  and,  having  made  out  the  litde  chamber, 
he  turned  up  all  the  pots  one  after  another,  and  immedi- 
ately the  souls  of  the  drowned  people  ascended  out  of 
the  water  and  recovered  their  liberty. 

THE   WONDERFUL   LITTLE    POUCH. 

At  noon,  one  day,  a  young  peasant  sat  by  the  side  of 
a  wood,  and,  sighing,  prayed  the  gods  to  give  him  a  mor- 
13 


2o8  ERROR'S   CHAINS. 

sel  of  food.  A  dwarf  suddenly  emerged  from  the  wood, 
and  told  him  that  his  prayer  should  be  fulfilled.  He  then 
gave  him  the  pouch  that  he  had  on  his  side,  with  the  as- 
surance that  he  would  always  find  in  it  wherewithal  to 
satisfy  his  thirst  and  hunger,  charging  him,  at  the  same 
time,  not  to  consume  it  all,  and  to  share  with  any  one  who 
asked  him  for  food.  The  dwarf  vanished,  and  the  peas- 
ant put  his  hand  into  the  pouch  to  make  a  trial  of  it,  and 
there  he  found  a  cake  of  new  bread,  a  cheese,  and  a 
bottle  of  wine,  on  which  he  made  a  hearty  meal.  He 
then  saw  that  the  pouch  swelled  up  as  before,  and,  look- 
ing in,  he  found  that  it  was  again  full  of  bread,  cheese 
and  wine.  He  now  felt  sure  of  his  food,  and  he  lived  on 
in  an  idle,  luxurious  way,  without  doing  any  work.  One 
day,  as  he  was  gorging  himself,  there  came  up  to  him  a 
feeble  old  man,  who  prayed  him  to  give  him  a  morsel  to 
eat.  He  refused  in  a  brutal,  churlish  tone,  when  instantly 
the  bread  and  cheese  broke,  and  scattered  out  of  his 
hands,  and  pouch  and  all  vanished. 

CHRISTIANIZING   THE    SAXONS. 

According  to  widely-accepted  tradition,  when  but  a 
young  deacon,  Gregory  the  Great  had  noted  the  white 
bodies,  the  fair  faces  and  the  golden  hajr  of  some  youths 
who  stood  bound  in  the  market-place  at  Rome.  "  From 
what  country  do  these  slaves  come  ?"  he  asked  the  traders 
who  held  them.  "  They  are  English,  Angles  !"  the  slave- 
dealers  answered.  The  deacon's  pity  veiled  itself  in 
poetic  humor.  "  Not  Angles,  but  angels,"  he  said,  "  with 
faces  so  angel-like!  From  what  country  come  they?" 
**  They  come,"  said  the  merchants,  "  from  Deira."  "  De 
ira!"  was  the  untranslatable  reply;  "aye,  plucked  from 
God's  ire,  and  called  to  Christ's  mercy !  And  what  is  the 
name  of  their  king  ?"     "/Ella,"  they  told  him  ;  and  Gr^- 


O  UR  HE  A  THEN  ANCESTORS.  2  OQ 

gory  seized  on  the  words  as  a  good  omen.  "Alleluia 
shall  be  sung  there,"  he  cried,  and  passed  on,  musing  how 
the  angel-faces  should  be  brought  to  sing  it. 

Years  went  by,  and  the  deacon  become  Bishop  of 
Rome,  when  the  Christian  princess,  Berctas'  marriage  to 
the  King  of  England  gave  him  the  opening  he  sought. 
He  at  once  sent  a  Roman  Abbot,  Augustine,  at  the  head 
of  a  band  of  monks,  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  the  English 
people.  The  missionaries  landed  A.  D.  597,  on  the  very 
spot  where  Hengest  had  landed  more  than  a  century 
before,  in  the  Isle  of  Thanet ;  and  the  king  received  them 
sitting  in  the  open  air,  on  the  chalk-down  above  Minster, 
where  the  eye  nowadays  catches,  miles  away  over  the 
marshes,  the  dim  tower  of  Canterbury.  He  listened  to 
the  long  sermon  as  the  interpreters  whom  Augustine  had 
brougrht  with  him  from  Gaul  translated  it.  "Your  words 
are  fair,"  yEthelberdt  replied  at  last,  with  English  good 
sense,  ''  but.  they  are  new  and  of  doubtful  meaning."  For 
himself,  he  said,  he  refused  to  forsake  the  gods  of  his 
fathers,  but  he  promised  shelter  and  protection  to  the 
strangers.  The  band  of  monks  entered  Canterbury 
bearing  before  them  a  silver  cross  with  a  picture  of 
Christ,  and  singing  in  concert  the  strains  of  the  litany  of 
their  church.  "Turn  from  this  city,  O  Lord,"  they  sang, 
"Thine  anger  and  wrath,  and  turn  it  from  Thy  holy 
house  ;  for  we  have  sinned."  And  then,  in  strange  con- 
trast, came  the  jubilant  cry  of  the  older  Hebrew  worship, 
the  cry  which  Gregory  had  wrested  in  prophetic  earnest- 
ness from  the  name  of  the  Yorkshire  king  in  the  Roman 
market-place — 'Alleluia !" 

Thus  was  begun  the  overturning  of  the  heathen  faith 
of  our  ancestors,  and  the  establishment  of  Christianity 
among  them. 


2IO       *  E JUROR'S   CHAINS. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

INDIA.  ! 

The  Hindu  mind  still  superstition  sways 
Still  to  his  Triune  God  the  Brahmin  prays; 
The  laws  of  "caste"  each  generous  hope  restrain, 
And  bind  all  mental  powers  with  palsying  chain. 
Still  lives  that  old  belief  the  Samian  taught, 
Insects  and  brutes  with  human  souls  are  fraught, 
Souls  doomed  to  wander  for  uncounted  years, 
Till,  pure  from  earthly  dross,  they  seek  the  spheres. 

Nicholas  Michell. 

INDIA  is  almost  a  continent  like  Europe.  It  Is  shaped 
like  a  great  triangle.  Its  population  amounts  to 
240,000,000.  There  are  different  races  in  India. 
First  came  to  the  fertile  valleys  of  the  Indus  and  Ganges 
the  sturdy  immigrants  from  Central  Asia,  from  Tartary 
and  Thibet.  These  were  Scythians,  some  of  them  Mongo- 
lians. Then  came  the  Hindu  people,  the  great  family  of 
the  Aryans,  who  separated  themselves  from  their  Persian 
brethren  sometime  near  2,000  B.  C,  and  gradually  over- 
spread all  India.  About  500  B.  C,  Darius  Hystaspes 
conquered  the  Indian  Empire.  Alexander  the  Great  in- 
vaded It  as  far  as  the  Indus  in  327  B,  C.  The  Mohammed- 
ans drove  the  Parsees  from  their  Persian  home  about  1,100 
years  ago,  and  a  small  body  of  them  setded  In  India. 
Then  came  the  Mohammedans  (Arabs,  Turks,  Afghans 
and  Moguls)  and  conquered  India  for  a  time.  There  are 
now  41,000,000  of  Mohammedans  In  that  land.  Still  later 
came  Europeans,  led  thither  by  the  prospects  of  great 


BRAHMINJSM  AMONG    THE   HINDUS. 


21  I 


commercial  gains,  the  Portuguese,  the  Danes,  the  Dutch, 
the  French  and,  finally,  came  the  English. 

Over  one  hundred  dialects  are  spoken  in  India,  but 
there  is  only  one  sacred  language  and  one  sacred  litera- 
ture. This  is  the  Sanscrit.  All  the  Hindu  sacred  books, 
all  the  sacred  knowledge 
of  Hindu  theology,  phil- 
osophy or  law,  all  the 
Hindu  creeds,  opinions, 
customs,  etc.,  are  recorded 
in  this  lano-uag-e.  This  Ian- 
guage  of  their  literature 
does  not  change  with  the 
course  of  time,  it  remains 
the  same  now  as  ever. 

SKETCH    OF   BRAHMINISM. 

Brahminism  grew  out  of 
what  is  called  the  Vedic  re- 
liofion.  Before  Abraham's 
day  the  people  living  in 
Central  Asia,  being  a  sim- 
ple race,  addressed  their  | 
prayers  to  the  powers  of 
nature,  as,  for  example,  to 
the  storms,  the  clouds  and 
the  sun,  seeing  the  Deity 
in  each  of  these.  Hymns 
were  written  to  these  gods 
and  this  forms  the  earliest  of  all  sacred  books,  only  ex- 
cepting those  from  which  Moses  wrote  his  account  of  the 
early  history  of  the  world  in  Genesis.  This'  people  moved 
south  into  India.  The  priesthood  arose  and  the  other 
Vedic  books  of  ceremonies,  sacrifices  and  liturmcal  forms 


ANCIENT  HINDU  IDOL. 


212  £J^MOA'S   CI/AIA'S. 

were  prepared.  Great  commentaries  were  written  on 
these  books,  and  all  were  declared  to  be  inspired. 

The  priests  quarreled  with  the  civil  chiefs,  but  their 
sacred  character  was  increased  by  the  conflict,  and  caste 
is  the  result.  The  priests  are  the  highest  caste  (or  class), 
next  come  the  warriors,  then  the  merchant,  the  farmer, 
etc.,  last  of  all  the  tanners,  buriers  of  the  dead,  etc. 
These  classes  never  intermarry  or  intermingle  in  any 
way;  it  is  contaminating  to  sit  together  even.  About 
this  time  idols  appear,  and  gods  multiply  until  they  reach 
the  number  of  330,000,000.  Men  groaned  under  this 
stupendous  system  of  oppressive  idolatry.  Buddha  tried 
in  the  seventh  century  before  Christ,  to  reform  it,  but  he 
failed,  though  he  succeeded  in  establishing  a  new  faith 
which  has  numbered  its  converts  by  the  hundreds  of  mil- 
lions. But  Brahminism  continues  to  be  the  religion  of 
India,  even  until  to-day.  The  task  of  Christianity  to 
supplant  it  is  gigantic,  and  rendered  doubly  difficult  by 
the  failure  of  Buddhism.  In  later  days  a  new  reformer 
appeared,  Rammohun  Roy.  He  started  the  Brahmo- 
somaj,or  reformed  Brahminism,  but  under  his  successor, 
Keshub  Chunder  Sen,  it  is  drifting  toward  Christianity. 

Starting  from  the  Veda,  Hinduism  has  ended  in  em- 
bracing something  from  all  religions,  and  in  presenting 
phases  suited  to  all  minds.  It  is  all-tolerant,  all-com- 
pliant, all-comprehensive,  all-absorbing.  It  has  Its  spiritual 
and  its  material  aspect,  its  esoteric  and  exoteric,  its  sub- 
jective and  objective,  its  rational  and  irrational,  its  pure 
and  Its  Impure.  It  has  one  side  for  the  practical,  another 
for  the  severely  moral,  another  for  the  devotional  and 
Imaofinative,  another  for  the  sensuous  and  sensual,  and 
another  for  the  philosophical  and  speculative.  Those 
who  rest  In  ceremonial  observances  find  it  all-sufficient; 
those  who  deny  the  efficacy  of  works  and  make  faith  the 


BRAHMINISM  AMONG    THE   HINDUS. 


213 


one  requisite,  need  not  wander  from  its  pale ;  those  who 
are  addicted  to  sensuaHty  may  have  their  tastes  fully 
gratified ;  those  whose 
delight  is  in  meditating 
upon  the  nature  of  God 
and  of  man,  or  the  rela- 
tions of  matter  and  of 
spirit,  the  mystery  of  sep- 
arate existence,  or  upon 
the  origin  of  evil,  may 
here  indulge  their  love 
of  speculation.  And  this 
capacity  for  almost  limit- 
less expansion  causes  al- 
most numberless  sectar- 
ian divisions  even  among 
the  followers  of  any  given 
particularline  of  doctrine. 
Yet  there  remains  much 
of  the  old  nature-wor- 
ship, or  more  correctly 
speaking,  of  the  old  devil- 
worship  among  the  Hin- 
dus even  at  this  late 
day.  As  in  Tinnevelly  the  people  worship  a  stone  devil, 
who  holds  a  trident  in  one  hand,  and  a  child  which  he 
was  about  to  devour  in  the  other.  The  idol  generally 
has  a  garland  of  red  and  white  oleander  flowers  on  its 
head  and  shoulders. 


DEVIL  WORSHIPED  IN  TINNEVELLY. 


THE    GODS    OF    HINDUISM. 


The  three  idols  sculptured  on  the  walls  of  Elephanta 
Cave  are  found  all  over  India,  and  constitute  the  chief 
gods  which  are  worshiped  by  the  Hindus. 


214 


EHHOJi'S   CHAINS. 


All  the  human  race  is  said  to  have  come  from  the 
highlands  of  Central  Asia,  and  the  worship  of  these,  our 
Aryan  forefathers,  was  at  first  exceedingly  simple.  Their 
manner  of  life  brought  them  into  close  contact  with  na- 
ture,  and  we  learn  from  the  hymns  then  written,  many  of 


INDRA,  GOD  OF  THE  ATMOSPHERE. 

which  are  still  preserved  in  the  Vedas  (the  sacred  book 
of  the  Hindus),  that  they  regarded  the  powers  of  nature 
as  manifestations  of  gods.  In  the  storms,  they  supposed 
these  rival  gods  were  quarreling.  In  the  Vedic  hymns, 
frequent  mention  is  made  of  the  chief  god,  called  Dyaus, 
the  "  Heavenly  Father."     Also  Aditi,  the  "  Infinite  Ex- 


BRAHMINISM   AiMONG    THE   HINDUS. 


215 


2i5  EI^J^OK'S   CI/ALVS. 

panse,"  is  called  the  mother  of  all  gods.  Next  comes 
Varuna,  the  "  Sky  in  its  Brightness,"  then  Indra,  the  god 
of  the  "Atmosphere;"  so  running  through  the  whole  list. 
After  a  time,  the  names  of  the  gods  are  somewhat  al- 
tered, and  a  sort  of  trinity  is  formed.  Agni,  god  of  fire, 
becomes  Brahma ;  Surya,  the  sun-god,  becomes  Vishnu, 
and  Indra,  the  atmosphere-god,  becomes  Siva.  These 
constitute  what  is  called  the  Tri-murti,  and  are  generally 
said  to  represent  one  god  as  Creator,  Preserver  or  De- 
stroyer. Hindus  often  write  in  their  honor  verses  like 
the  following : 

"  In  those  three  persons  the  one  God  was  shown — 
Each  first  in  place,  each  last — not  one  alone ; 
Of  Siva,  Vishnu,  Brahma,  each  may  be 
First,  second,  third,  among  the  Blessed  Three." 

As  to  which  of  the  three  gods  is  to  be  called  the  Su- 
preme Being,  opinions  differ.  The  following  story  is  told 
in  one  of  the  sacred  books  touching  upon  this  point: 

STORY    OF   THE    SAGES'    SEARCH. 

A  dispute  arose  among  the  sages  as  to  which  of  the 
three  gods  was  greatest ;  so  they  applied  to  the  great 
Bhrigu,  one  of  the  ten  Maharshis,  or  primeval  patriarchs 
created  by  the  first  Manu,  to  determine  the  point.  He 
undertook  to  put  all  three  gods  to  a  severe  test,  and 
went  first  to  Brahma;  on  approaching  whom  he  pur- 
posely omitted  an  obeisance.  Upon  this  the  god's  anger 
blazed  terribly  forth ;  but,  restraining  it,  he  was  at  length 
pacified.  Next  he  repaired  to  the  abode  of  Siva,  in 
Kailasa,  and  omitted  to  return  the  god's  salutation.  The 
vindictive  deity  was  enraged,  his  eyes  flashed  fire,  and 
he  raised  his  trident  to  destroy  the  sage  ;  but  the  god's 
wife,  Parvati,  fell  at  his  feet  and  by  her  intercession  ap- 
peased him.    Lastly,  he  repaired  to  Vaikuntha,  the  heaven 


BRAHMTNTSM  AMONG    THE   HINDUS.  217 

of  Vishnu,  whom  he  found  asleep  with  his  head  on  his 
consort  Lakshml's  lap.  To  make  a  trial  of  his  forbear- 
ance, he  boldly  gave  the  god  a  kick  on  his  breast,  which 
awoke  him.  Instead  of  showing  anger,  however,  Vishnu 
arose,  and  on  seeing  Bhrigu,  asked  his  pardon  for  not 
having  greeted  him  on  his  first  arrival.  Next,  he  ex- 
pressed himself  highly  honored  by  the  sage's  blow  (which 
he  declared  had  imprinted  an  indelible  mark  of  good 
fortune  on  his  breast),  and  then  inquired  tenderly 
whether  his  foot  was  hurt,  and  proceeded  to  rub  it  gently. 
"  This,"  said  Bhrigu,  "  is  the  mightiest  god ;  he  over- 
powers by  the  most  potent  of  all  weapons — ^gentleness 
and  generosity."  This  idea  was  not  far  removed  from 
the  genius  of  Christianity,  which  conspicuously  encour- 
ages the  overcoming  of  evil  with  good. 

CAN    THE    GODS    DIE  ? 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  ideas  to  be  found  in  the 
Brahmanas  is  that  the  gods  were  merely  mortals  till  they 
extorted  immortality  from  the  Supreme  Being  by  sacri- 
fices and  austerities.  A  natural  or  inherent  immortality 
in  these  deities  was  never  dreamed  of,  it  is  said : 

"The  gods  lived  constantly  in  dread  of  Death — 
The  mighty  Ender — so  with  toilsome  rites 
They  worshiped  and  repeated  sacrifices 
Till  they  became  immortal.     Then  the  Ender 
Said  to  the  gods,  'As  ye  have  made  yourselves 
Imperishable ;  so  will  men  endeavor 
To  free  themselves  from  me  ;  what  portion  then 
Shall  I  possess  in  man  ?'   The  gods  replied, 
*  Henceforth  no  being  shall  become  immortal 
In  his  own  body ;  this  his  mortal  frame 
Shalt  thou  still  seize ;  this  shall  remain  thy  own. 
He  who  through  knowledge  or  religious  acts 
Henceforth  attains  to  immortality 
Shall  first  present  his  body,  Death,  to  thee.'  " 


2i8  EKROK'S   CHAINS. 

SECTS    OF    HINDUISM. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  the  heathen  rehgions  pre- 
sent one  unbroken  front  against  the  oncomino-  ranks  of 
Christianity.  Christianity  is  divided  into  sects,  it  is  true; 
but  these  sects  are  but  as  the  different  regiments  and 
divisions  of  an  army.  The  banner  of  the  Cross  is  at  the 
head  of  the  whole  of  this  grand  army,  and  it  floats  proudly 
over  each  regiment;  the  regimental  banner  is  always 
placed  beneath,  and  not  above,  the  banner  of  the  Cross. 
Hence  the  various  denominations  of  Christians  are  not 
so  many  distinct  bodies,  fighting  each  other  as  well  as 
fighting  the  common  foe;  but  they  are  so  many  bands  of 
soldiers,  fighting,  perhaps,  each  in  its  own  way,  yet  all 
aiming  to  destroy  the  one  common  enemy,  Satan  and  his 
works.  But  the  divisions  of  heathen  religious  systems 
differ  greatly  from  this.  Many  of  them  are  so  different 
from  each  other  that  there  is  hardly  a  trace  of  resem- 
blance remaining.  Each  heathen  religious  system  wages 
war  against  every  other  one.  Buddhism  is,  perhaps,  an 
exception  to  this,  at  least  in  its  mode  of  warfare,  for  it 
seeks  to  swallow  up  every  other  system,  to  incorporate 
all  other  religions  in  its  own  and  to  destroy  them  by  the 
change.  In  each  of  these  systems,  as  well  as  in  Hindu- 
ism, which  we  have  now  before  us  for  consideration, 
there  are  many  different  sects.  These  vary  very  much 
more  than  the  denominations  of  Christendom,  and  are 
constantly  turning  their  guns  upon  each  other.  Thus 
God  is  making  Satan  to  defeat  himself,  and  will  bring 
good  to  the  world  even  out  of  the  wicked  one's  work. 

The  sects  of  Hinduism  overlap  each  other.  Many 
Hindus  are  attached  at  the  same  time  :o  several  sects, 
and  some  of  the  gods  are  worshiped  by  all  the  sects  in 
common.     Following  the  national  tendency  of  all  heathen 


BRAHMINISM  AMONG    THE   HINDUS. 


relio-ious    systems,    Hinduism:   developed     downwards. 
Sect  after  sect  arose,  each  calling  attention  to  some  one 


2  20 


EHJiOR'S   CHAINS. 


prominent  point  in  their  faith,  and  setting  all  the  other 
points  far  in  the  background. 

During  all  the  period  from  800  to  500  before  Christ, 
the  need  of  making  peace  offerings  to  the  gods  was  in- 
sisted upon  by  certain  sects.  According  to  the  creed  of 
one  popular  sect,  for  example,  if  one  should  slay  a  hun- 
dred horses  in  sacrifice,  he  would  be  worthy  of  being  ex- 
alted to  the  rank  of  a  powerful  god.  Thousands  of 
animals,  principally  horses,  cows,  pigs,  and  the  like,  were 
slain  every  day  at  this  time.  The  whole  land  was  filled 
with  blood.  Then  came  the  reaction,  a  new  sect  arose, 
who,  disgusted  and  wearied  of  sacrifices  and  sacrificing 
priests,  declared  all  sacrifices  as  unnecessary  and  dis- 
pleasing to  the  gods.  The  followers  of  Kali,  the  god- 
dess of  blood,  and  especially  the  Thugs,  who  came  into 
prominence  later  on  and  who  are  described  in  connection 
with  the  worship  of  Kali,  of  course  opposed  this  idea. 
Yet  they  were  unsuccessful,  their  rival  sect  rapidly 
gained  the  popular  favor,  and,  except  at  Kali's  altars, 
sacrifices  almost  disappeared.  The  great  reformer,  Bud- 
dha, the  "Light  of  Asia,"  gave  great  assistance  to  this 
doctrine.  He  taught,  about  the  seventh  century  before 
Christ,  that  it  was  the  duty  of  man  to  preserve  life,  and 
not  to  destroy  it.  The  teaching  that  the  souls  of  men 
after  death  passed  into  the  bodies  of  animals  also  aided 
in  this.  Buddha's  teachinofs  gfained  almost  universal  ac- 
ceptance  in  India  for  a  time ;  it  looked  as  though  it  would 
root  out  Hinduism.  But  gradually  the  Hindu  priests 
brought  Buddhism  back  unto  itself  again.  The  priests 
declared  that  Gautama,  the  Buddha,  was  an  incarnation 
of  the  god  Vishnu,  and  by  this  concession  won  their  way 
to  the  hearts  of  the  people.  Each  of  the  gods  had  their 
own  followers,  and,  as  may  be  imagined,  the  sect  that 
worshiped  Vishnu  received  many  new  adherents. 


BRAHMINISM  AMONG    THE    HINDUS. 


221 


After  this,  Hinduism  rapidly  descended  to  its  darkest, 
deepest  degradation.  Priestcraft  was  extended,  rites 
were  multiplied,  and  superstitious  customs  increased. 
For  long  years  the  people  groaned  under  their  heavy 
burdens,  then  sought — ^.as,  alas !  how  often  they  sought, 
but  only  to  fail — to  get  back  to  the  high  ground  of  a 
purer  religion.  Reformers 
appeared,  and  the  people 
gladly  and  quickly  gather- 
ed around  these  reformers, 
thus  forming  new  sects. 
To  set  forth  the  whole  his- 
tory of  these  sects  would 
require  volume  after  vol- 
ume. In  a  general  way, 
we  may  say  that  there  are 
five  large  sects :  the  fol- 
lowers of  Siva,  of  Vishnu, 
of  Sakta,  the  sun  worship- 
ers, and  the  adherents  of 
Ganesha.  We  might  well 
add  to  these,  and  to  the 
multitude  of  minor  sects 
Into  which  they  are  di- 
vided, the  greatest  of  mod- 
ern sects,  which  is  called 
the  Brahmo-Somaj. 

In  the  year  j  7  74  was  born 
a  man  of  marked  ability, 
named  Rammohun  Roy.  He  sought  to  suppress  the 
Suttee,  the  burning  of  Hindu  widows  with  the  bodies  of 
their  dead  husbands.  He  encouraged  native  education 
and  the  general  enlightenment  of  the  whole  people.  He 
went  back  beyond  the  teachings  of  priests  and  of  the 


-CLLPrURED  IDOLS  ON  A  PILLAR. 


222 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


modern  sacred  Hindu  books,  back  to  the  Vedas,  and 
sought  to  prove  that  they  taught  that  idolatry  was  wrong, 
and  that  one  god  should  be  worshiped.  To  this  Supreme 
Being  he  gave  the  name  of  Brahma,  and  hence  his  sect 
of  reformed  Hinduism  was  called  the  Brahma  or  Brahmo- 
Somaj,  or  Society  of  God.  After  his  death,  several 
other  leaders  arose,  the  last  of  whom,  the  third  from  Ram- 
mohun  Roy,  named  Keshub  Chunder  Sen,  was,  perhaps, 
most  in  accord  with  the  founder's  spirit.  He  visited 
England  lately.  Under  his  leading  the  society  is  offering 
an  uncompromising  opposition  to  caste,  idolatry  and 
superstition,  and  is  accomplishing  the  best  results. 

PRINCIPLES    OF    HINDUISM. 

Hinduism  as  a  system  has  nothing  to  say  about  mak- 
ing men  better,  it  only  tells  of  means  to  make  peace  with 
angry  gods.  It  speaks  only  threatening  and  fear.  But 
worse  than  this — and  it  would  corrupt  our  pages  to  do 
more  than  mention  it — much  of  its  worship  is  vile;  vulgar 
images  are  common  objects  of  worship  in  India. 

Its  teachings  as  to  the  next  world  and  the  way  to  reach 
It  are  remarkable.  There  is  supposed  to  be  a  wide 
stream  between  this  world  and  the  next,  and  the  only 
way  to  cross  is  by  holding  on  to  the  tail  of  the  sacred 
cow  when  dying. 

One  terrible  feature  of  Hinduism  is  Caste.  Every 
Hindu  child  is  born  within  a  certain  caste,  and  above  or 
below  that  it  can  never  go.  It  is  a  most  rigid  system 
requiring  the  members  of  one  caste  to  have  as  little  as 
possible  to  do  with  the  members  of  another.  The  four 
principal  castes  are — the  Priest  or  Brahmin  caste;  the 
Warrior  caste;  the  Merchant  caste;  the  Sudras,  or  Ser- 
vile caste;  besides  these  are  the  Pariahs,  who  are  below 
all  caste.     Some  of  the  castes  distinguish  themselves  by 


BRAIIMJMSM   .'1J.0A-G    THE    B/ADC'S. 


223 


the  cut  and  color  of  their  dress,  some  by  the  way  in  whicli 
.their  garments  are  put  on,  some   by  a  pecuHar  mark  on 


DYING  BRAHMIN  HOLDING  THE  TAIL  OF  THE  SACRED  COW- 
SO  AS  TO  ENTER  HEAVEN. 

the  forehead,  some  by  the  jewels  or  ornaments  they  wear. 
The  bounds  of  these  castes  are  fixed  and  immovable. 

No  one,  however,  rich,  or  learned,  or  skillful,  can  rise 

14 


224 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


above  his  caste,  no  one,  however  poor,  or  degraded,  or 
vicious,  sinks  below  his  caste.  Each  caste  looks  up  to 
those  above  it,  and  concedes  its  superiority. 


A  CASTE-MARKED  BRAHMIN  AT  HIS  DEVOTIONS. 

A  Brahmin  who  had  become  a  Christian,  once  told  a 
celebrated  traveler,  that  the  people  of  lower  castes  than 
his  own  had  often  asked  him  to  stop  and  wash  his  feet  in 
the  water  of  the  street,  so  that  they  might  drink  it!  The 
whole  system,  this  traveler  goes  on  to  say,  is  a  cold  and 
cruel  thino-,  which  hardens  the  heart  arainst  natural  com- 
passion.     Against  its  oppression  there  is  no   power  of 


BRAHMINISM  AMONG    THE   HINDUS. 


22 


resistance;  it  extinguishes  every  element  of  human 
brotherhood.  Hinduism  is,  take  it  all  and  all,  one  of  the 
vilest,  most  despotic,  most  degrading  systems  of  religion. 
In  almost  every  other  faith  there  is  some  redeeming 
feature;  in  Hinduism  we  seek  in  vain  to  find  any  element 
of    truth.      There 


is    nothing 


jn  It 
worthy  of  being 
placed  in  compar- 
ison with  Chris- 
tianity. Yet  the 
task  of  persuading 
the  Hindu  people 
of  this  is  a  very 
difficult  one.  The 
missionary  seems  ^, 
as  but  a  youthful  \| 
David  with  his 
sline  and  stones 
in  the  presence  of 
this  very  Goliath 
of  Heathenism. 
But  he  has  God 
standing  with  him, 
and  by  His  aid  the 
work  will  finally  be 
successful. 


GOD  OF  HELL,  FROM  A  HINDU  PICTURE- 


HUMAN    BEINGS    KILLED    IN    SACRIFICE. 

Very  early  in  the  history  of  the  Hindu  religion,  human 
beines  were  sacrificed  to  the  gods.  Both  children  and 
adults  were  slain  before  Kali's  altars,  especially.  Sacrifice 
of  human  beings  is  referred  to  in  the  sacred  books ;  for 
instance,  it  appears  in  the  following  Brahmana : 


226 


jlkroj^'s  c II a  J  as. 


King  Hariscandra  had  no  son  ;  he  then  prayed  to  Var- 
una,  promising,  that  if  a  son  were  born  to  him,  he  would 

sacrifice  the  child  to  the 
ffod.  Then  a  son  was 
born  to  him  called  Rohita. 
When  Rohita  was  grown 
up,  his  father  one  day  told 
him  of  the  vow  he  had 
made  to  Varuna  and  bade 
him  prepare  to  be  sacri- 
ficed. The  son  declined 
to  be  killed,  and  ran  away 
from  his  father's  house. 
For  six  years  he  wandered 
in  the  forest  and  at  last 
met  a  starving  Brahmin. 
Him  he  persuaded  to  sell 
one  of  his  sons  named 
Sunahsepha,  for  a  hun- 
dred cows.  This  boy  was 
bought  by  Rohita  and 
taken  to  Hariscandra  and 
AMADEo,  GOD  OF  LOVE.  ^^g  ^^^^^^  ^^  j^^  gacrificed 

to  Varuna  as  a  substitute  for  Rohita.  At  this  moment, 
on  praying  to  the  gods  with  verses  from  the  Veda,  the  boy 
was  released.  Some  of  the  Hindu  gods  are,  in  accord 
with  this  idea,  horrible  imaginations,  as  the  god  of  Hell. 
In  contrast  wiih  such,  is  Amadeo,  god  of  Love,  the  cupid 
god  of  the  Hindus. 

But  the  Hindus  were  averse  to  human  sacrifice,  and 
so  they  found  a  way  to  get  around  it.  They  introduced 
this  passage  into  their  sacred  books: 

The  gods  killed  a  man  for  their  victim.  But  from  him 
thus  killed,  the  part  which  was  fit  for  a  sacrifice  went  out 


BRAHMINISM  AMONG    THE   HINDUS.  227 

and  entered  a  horse.  Thence  the  horse  became  an  ani- 
mal fit  for  being  sacrificed.  The  gods  then  killed  the 
horse,  but  the  part  of  it  fit  for  being  sacrified  went  out  of 
it  and  entered  an  ox.  The  gods  then  killed  the  ox,  but 
the  part  of  it  fit  for  being  sacrificed  went  out  of  it  and 
entered  a  sheep.  Thence  it  entered  a  goat.  The  sacri- 
ficial part  remained  for  the  longest  time  in  the  goat; 
thence,  it  became  pre-eminently  fit  for  being  sacrificed ! 

woman's     life     in  INDIA. 

Every  one  of  the  heathen  religions  more  or  less  de- 
g-rades  woman.  Often  she  is  made  the  slave  of  man,  or, 
worse  still,  the  creature  to  minister  to  his  appetites. 
Only  Christianity  seeks  to  lift  woman  to  the  level  of 
man.  Women  in  Christian  lands  rarely  ever  appreciate 
the  low  condition  of  their  Oriental  sisters.  In  India,  wo- 
man's condition  is  worse  than  in  China,  and  in  China 
worse  than  in  Japan.  In  the  early  religious  writings  of 
the  Hindus,  woman  is  spoken  of  with  respect ;  but  in 
later  days  those  teachings  have  been  all  but  forgotten. 
Indeed,  the  degradation  of  woman  in  India — not  merely 
sanctioned,  but  commanded,  by  the  Hindu  religion — is 
without  a  parallel  in  any  age  and  among  any  other  race. 
According  to  the  Code  of  Manu,  the  law-book  of  the 
Hindu  religion,  woman  is  forbidden  to  read  the  sacred 
books  or  to  offer  up  prayers  or  sacrifices  in  her  own 
name  and  person.  She  may  pray  and  worship,  but  only 
as  her  father  or  husband  directs.  Woman  is  regarded 
as  having  no  soul,  differing  from  the  beasts  only  in  being 
more  intelligent  than  they.  Moreover,  she  is  commanded 
to  revere  her  husband  as  a  god. 

If  a  Brahmin,  or  priest,  happens  to  be  reading  the  Vedas 
(the  sacred  Hindu  books),  and  a  woman  happens  to  come 
near,   he  must  suspend  his  reading  until   she  pass   by. 


22< 


£A'A'OA"S   CHAINS. 


Her  ear  is  not  pure  enough  to  hear  the  sacred  word,  they 
say.  They  were  kept  secluded  from  sight  in  ill-furnished 
apartments ;  really,  they  were  kept  prisoners  in  the 
zenanas,  as  their  apartments  were  called.  Only  recently 
has  the  condition  of  the  women  of  India  been  exposed. 


TEACHING  A  CHILD  TO  WORSHIP  GANESHA,  THE  GOD  OF  WISDOM. 

Missionary  ladies,  by  taking  the  occasion  of  teaching  wo- 
men how  to  knit  and  embroider,  managed  to  secure  an 
entrance  to  the  zenanas.  Tale  after  tale  was  told  of  the 
pitiful  condition  of  the  Hindu  women.  These  were 
doubted,  questioned  and    examined;    but   investigation 


BRAHMINISM  AMONG    THE   BIND  US. 


220 


confirmed  their  truth.  What  is  the  picture  that  is  drawn 
by  these  faithful  pens  of  the  Hindu  woman's  hfe  from  the 
cradle  to  the  grave  ?  Girls  are  never  welcomed  in  India. 
Formerly  a  large  number  were  destroyed  at  birth,  but 
now  the  British  government  prevents  that.  But  they  are 
as  badly  off,  in  many  cases  worse,  than  if  dead.  Their 
very  existence  is  almost  unnoticed  by  their  father.     Ask 


A  CHILD  BRINGING  AN  OFFERING  TO  THE  IDOL  OF  A  BULL. 


a  Hindu  how  many  children  he  has — supposing  that  he 
have  three  sons  and  four  daughters — he  will  reply,  "  I 
have  three  children,"  not  thinking  it  worth  while  to  count 
his  daughters.  Formerly  at  least  seventy-five  out  of 
€very  hundred  female  infants  were  destroyed.  These 
infants  were  generally  cast  to  the  crocodiles  in  the  Gan- 
ges, and,  strange  to  say,  the  mother  thought  she  was 


2-^0  ERROR'S   CHAhXS. 

serving  Heaven  in  doing  this  unnatural  deed.     The  great 
linguist,  Dr.  John  Leyden,  has  written : 

"  To  glut  the  shark  and  crocodile 

A  mother  brought  ber  infant  here; 
She  saw  its  tender,  playful  smile, 

She  shed  not  one  maternal  tear. 
She  threw  it  on  a  watery  bier ; 

With  grinding  teeth  sea-monsters  tore 

The  smiling  infant  that  she  bore. 
She  shrunk  not  once  its  cries  to  hear !" 

From  childhood  they  are  taught  to  worship  the  idols,. 
especially  Ganesha,  the  god  of  wisdom,  and  so  the  stone 
bulls. 

After  a  little  girl  has  reached  her  fifth  birthday,  her 
parents  begin  to  look  for  a  husband  for  her.  She  can 
be  married  when  seven  years  old,  but  may  wait  until  she 
is  ten.  The  idea  of  marrying  for  love  is  never  dreamed 
of.  The  little  one  never  makes  her  own  choice  of  a  hus- 
band. Her  married  life  bears  not  the  slicrhtest  resem- 
blance  to  the  life  of  a  wife  in  a  Christian  land.  The 
Shasters  declare  that  a  wife,  "When  in  the  presence  of 
her  husband,  must  keep  her  eyes  upon  her  master,  and 
be  ready  to  receive  his  commands.  When  he  speaks, 
she  must  be  quiet,  and  listen  to  nothing  else  besides ; 
when  he  calls,  she  must  leave  everything  else,  and  attend 
upon  him  alone.  A  woman  has  no  other  god  on  earth 
but  her  husband.  The  most  excellent  of  all  good  works 
that  she  can  perform  is  to  gratify  him  with  the  strictest 
obedience.  This  should  be  her  only  devotion.  Though 
he  be  aged,  infirm,  dissipated,  a  drunkard  or  a  debauchee,, 
she  must  still  reo-ard  him  as  her  orod.  She  must  serve 
him  with  all  her  might,  obeying  him  in  all  things,  spying 
no  defects  in  his  character,  and  g-ivincr  him  no  cause  for 
disquiet.     If  he  laughs,  she  must  laugh  ;  if  he  weeps,  she 


BRAHMINISM  AMONG    THE   HINDUS. 


231 


must  weep  ;  if  "he  sings,  she  must  be  in  an  ecstasy."  The 
wife  may  never  walk  with  her  husband.  No  other  man 
than  he  or  her  father  or 
brothers  must  ever  look  on 
her  face.  A  Hindu  woman 
would  rather  die  than  to 
be  thus  defiled,  as  they  are 
taught  to  regard  it. 

Woman  in  India  is  in  the 
power  of  her  husband  com- 
pletely; she  is  his  slave,  and 
must  wait  on  his  every  mo- 
tion.    Worse  than  this,  she 
is  not  the  only  wife,  for  Hin- 
duism permits  a  man  to  have 
many  wives.  When  her  hus- 
band dies,  the  wife  is  more 
unhappy    than    ever.      All 
her  ornaments  and  beauti- 
ful clothing  are  taken  from 
her,  and  only  a  poor,  coarse, 
brown  robe  is  left;  her  black  S 
hair  is  shorn    off^   and  the  ^pi; 
tali — answering  to  our  mar-  X^^ 
riage-ring — is    taken    from  1 
her.    Henceforth,  if  she  live, 
she  must  practice  the  sever- 
est penance.     Often,  before 
the  British  government  put  § 
a  stop  to  it,  the  widow  was  ^ 
burned  alive  with  the  dead  »^^^u  woman. 

body  of^her  husband.  For  all  this  degradation  and 
misery  and  shameless  treatment  of  women  Hinduism  is 
responsible. 


2_j2  EHROJi'S  CHAINS. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

HINDU    TEMPLES,    IDOLS    AND    WORSHIP. 

A  thousand  pilgrims  strain 
Arm,  shoulder,  breast  and  thigh,  with  might  and  main, 

To  drag  that  sacred  wain, 
And  scarce  can  draw  the  enormous  load, 
Prone  fall  the  frantic  votaries  in  its  road, 

And  calling  on  the  god. 
Their  self-devoted  bodies  there  they  lay 

To  pave  his  chariot-way. 

On  Jaga-Naut  they  call. 
The  ponderous  car  rolls  on,  and  crushes  all. 

Robert  Southey. 

EVERY  city  of  India  has  its  temples  by  the  hun- 
dreds, in  some  cases  by  the  thousands.  On  all 
the  hills,  in  all  the  valleys,  scattered  over  all  the 
fields,  in  the  densest  jungles  or  open  plains  are  temples, 
shrines  and  idols.  The  rivers  are  sacred,  trees  are  wor- 
shiped and  very  many  animals  receive  religious  reverence. 
The  temple-courts  are  filled  with  chattering  monkeys, 
and  here  and  there  we  see  the  sacred  bulls,  garlanded 
with  flowers  and  fed  by  the  devotees.  There  is  no  end, 
seemingly,  to  their  temples  and  idols.  Probably  no 
country  in  the  world  has  more  of  these  than  India.  It  is 
one  of  the  marks  of  heathenism  to  multiply  the  objects 
and  places  of  worship.  Of  course,  we  cannot  here  make 
mention  of  all  these,  we  can  but  describe  a  feifv  of  the 
more  important,  which  may  serve  as  specimens  of  the 
rest. 


HINDU  TEMPLES,  IDOLS  AND   WORSHIP. 


233 


o 
-w 

I 

H 

c: 

w 


>  ■■■!  1 

t  ',1 

I'll,  M 


IDOLS    AND    TEMPLES    OF   JUGGERNAUT. 

Juggernaut  Is  a  celebrated  god.    He  is  called  the  "Lord 
of  the  world."     His  images  are  as  ugly  as  can  be  con- 


27 A  ERJiOA"S    CHAINS. 

ceived.  Generally  they  are  made  of  wood;  in  some 
temples  placed  three  together,  one  of  blue,  one  of  white 
and  one  of  yellow.  Juggernaut  has  many  temples;  the 
one  at  Puri,  on  the  western  shore  of  the  Bay  of  Bengal,, 
being  the  largest,  and  esteemed  the  most  holy.  This 
pagoda  stands  at  the  end  of  the  principal  street  of  the 
city,  which  is  very  wide,  and  lined  with  dwellings  for  the 
priests,  small  shrines  and  other  sacred  buildings.  The 
wall  which  surrounds  the  temple  is  21  feet  high,  and 
forms  an  inclosure  650  feet  on  each  side.  The  principal 
edifice  rises  to  the  height  of  184  feet.  The  main  gate- 
way is  crowded  with  Fakirs.  On  each  side  of  the  en- 
trance is  a  mammoth  lion.  Just  before  the  visitor,  as  he 
enters,  is  an  image  of  the  monkey-god,  Hanuman. 

The  temple  is  dedicated  to  Krishna,  or  Juggernaut^ 
(sometimes  written  Jagan-nath,)  and  his  companions — 
Siva  and  Sathadra.  The  idols  of  each  are  rude,  hideous- 
looking  sculptured  blocks  of  wood,  each  about  six  feet 
high.  The  representations  of  the  human  face  in  these 
idols  are  hideous.  Krishna  is  pajnted  dark  blue,  Siva 
white  and  Sathadra  yellow.  Before  the  altar  an  image 
of  the  hawk-god,  Garounda,  is  placed.  Every  day,  we 
are  told,  the  idols  are  feasted,  Their  food  consists  of 
410  pounds  of  rice,  225  pounds  of  flour,  350  pounds 
of  butter,  167  pounds  of  treacle,  65  pounds  of  vege- 
tables, 186  pounds  of  milk,  24  pounds  of  spices,  34 
pounds  of  salt  and  41  pounds  of  oil.  While  the  food 
is  being  placed  before  the  gods,  all  but  a  favored  few 
are  excluded  from  the  temple,  and  the  doors  are  shut. 
There  are  over  20,000  holy  men  connected  with  this, 
temple,  and  we  can  easily  guess  that  they  help  the  idols 
to  get  rid  of  this  great  mass  of  food,  at  any  rate  it  all 
speedily  disappears.  The  idols,  strange  as  it  may  seem^. 
are  washed  and  dressed  daily  with  great  seriousness. 


■»iiite 


!orthe 
=-  Ik 


ieen- 
r.  as  lie 

OQS- 

ieous- 


-  anage 
iv,  we 


m 


HINDU  TEMPLES,  IDOLS  AND  WORSHIP.  237 

many  of  them  die  in  consequence  of  excessive  fatigue^ 
exposure  to  the  annual  rains,  and  the  want  of  suita- 
ble and  sufficient  food.  The  plains,  in  many  places, 
are  literally  whitened  with  their  bones,  while  dogs 
and  vultures  are  continually  devouring  the  bodies 
of  the  dead.  At  the  appointed  time  each  idol  was 
washed,  dressed  in  silk  and  gold,  and  placed  upon  his 
triumphal  car.  The  car  of  Juggernaut  consists  of  an 
elevated  platform,  thirty-four  feet  square,  supported  by 
sixteen  wheels,  each  six  and  a  half  feet  in  diameter.  It 
is  covered  with  cloth  of  gold  and  cosdy  stuffs,  and  a  Jug- 
gernaut is  placed  under  a  canopy.  Six  ropes,  or  cables^ 
300  feet  in  length,  are  attached  to  the  car,  by  means  of 
which  the  people  draw  it  from  place  to  place.  The 
whole  car  is  covered  with  sculptures  in  the  Hindu  style. 

Thousands  seize  these  ropes,  as  many  as  could  get 
hold.  In  their  fanatical  frenzy  they  crowded  and  should- 
ered and  shoved  one  another,  counting  themselves  happy 
if  they  could  only  lay  a  hand  on  the  ropes.  The  Car- 
Festival  was  the  great  event  of  the  religious  year  of  the 
worshipers  of  Juggernaut.  Its  object  was  to  convey 
Juggernaut  from  the  temple  to  his  country  house,  a  mile 
distant.  When  the  image  was  placed  in  the  car  the  mul- 
titude fell  on  their  knees  and  bowed  their  foreheads  in 
the  dust. 

As  the  car  began  to  advance  the  drums  beat  and  cym- 
bals clashed,  while  from  its  platform  the  priests  shouted, 
haraneued  and  sanof  sonQ^s,  which  were  received  with 
applause  by  the  multitude.  And  so  the  dense  mass,  tug- 
ging, sweating,  singing,  praying,  dragged  the  car  slowly 
along.  Some  were  knocked  down  and  trampled  upon, 
and  some  were  accidentally  crushed  by  the  ponderous 
wheels,  while  a  few,  mostly  those  who  were  sick  or  in 
much  trouble,  sought  death  by  throwing  themselves  in 


2.^.8 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


the  way  of  the  wheels,  this  latter  being  encouraged  by 
some  of  the  priests.  The  priests  and  priestesses  chanted 
songs  in  praise  of  the  gods,  the  multitudes  flung  flowers 
and  other  shifts  about  the  car. 

Such  was  the  Great  Car-Festival  of  Juggernaut  in  an- 
cient days.  Of  late  years  it  has  lost  much  of  its  popu- 
larity, and  though  thousands  still  attend  annually,  it  is 
now  looked  upon  more  as  an  annual  fair  than  a  religious 
festival.  The  devotees  are  not  half  so  zealous  as  form- 
erly, and  the  priests  find  almost  no  one  to  drag  the  car. 
No  lono-er  do  any  self-made  victims  fall  beneath  its 
wheels,  unless  it  be  some  poor,  weak  wretch,  tired  of  life 
and  desiring  thus  to  commit  suicide.  The  British  gov- 
ernment has  caused  much  of  this  change,  but  more  has 
been  done  by  the  influence  which  Christian  missionaries 

have  exerted  upon  the 
people.  The  "Lord  of 
the  World,"  as  they  call 
this  idol,  shall  yet  bow  be- 
fore the  Lord  of  Lords. 

From  this  acount  of 
Juggernaut  and  his  wor- 
ship one  cannot  fail  to 
see  the  terrible  degrada- 
tion which  Hinduism  im- 
poses on  Its  devotees. 
That  God  should  be 
deemed  to  be  fitly  repre- 
sented by  such  ugly  con- 
ceptions as  are  seen  in 
these   idols    is   evidence 

THK  IDOL JUGGKRNAUT  USUALLY  CARRIED 

ON  THE  CAR.  of  a  most  degraded  sys- 

tem of  relimon.  Still  more  so  is  the  teachinof  of  the 
priests,  that  God  actually  lives  in  some  substance  in  the 


HINDU  TEMPLES,  IDOLS  AND   WORSHIP.  239 

idol's  heart.  Contrast  this  with  the  teachings  of  the 
Bible  concerningr  Him  whom  the  heaven  of  heavens 
cannot  contain !  Juggernaut  s  worshipers  regard  him  as 
a  thing  whom  they  are  to  keep  from  getting  angry  by 
petting  him  and  caring  for  and  feeding  as  for  a  little 
child;  that  He  is  a  being  who  needs  such  things  as 
clothing  to  protect  and  food  to  sustain  Him,  and  who 
needs  to  be  washed,  and  to  retire  to  a  summer  resort  to 
escape  the  summer's  heat. 

A  striking  illustration  of  the  inferiority  of  idols  is  given 
in  the  incident  pictured  below.  Several  converts  from 
Hinduism  concluded  to  undress  and  disjoint  their  idol, 


DISROBING  AND  DISJOINTING  JUGGERNAUT. 

and  finally  they  chopped  up  the  several  parts  and  used 
them  for  firewood,  thus  more  than  fulfilling  the  words  of 
Isaiah  (chap,  xliv.,  9-20),  who  tells  of  idolaters  making  an 
idol  of  parts  of  their  wood  and  burning  the  residue  to 
warm  themselves  and  to  roast  their  meat. 

IS 


240 


£J?A'OA"S   CHAINS. 


KALI,    THE    GODDESS    OF    BLOOD. 

Kali  is  a  very  popular  goddess,  and  yet  her  images  are 
the  pictures  of  terror.     She  wears  a  head-dress  of  snakes, 

and  a  necklace  con- 
sisting of  a  chain  of 
skulls.  In  her  hand 
she  holds  a  murder- 
ous-looking knife. 
Kali  is  the  wife  of 
Siva,  the  destroyer. 
In  September  a  fes- 
tival is  held  in  her 
honor,  called  the 
Doorga-pooja.  In 
all  of  Kali's  temples 
her  idols  are  gayly 
adorned  with  flow- 
ers, and  prayers  are 
offered  to  her  dur- 
ing days  of  dancing 
and  sino-inor. 

There  used  to  be 
a  sect  of  murderous 
stranglers,  known 
as  Thugs,  who  were 
especially  devoted 
to  the  worship  of  Kali,  and  who  performed  their  murder- 
ous work  as  a  religious  service  to  that  goddess.  The  story 
of  this  people  opens  up  a  chapter  of  the  greatest  cruelty, 
going  far  beyond  all  the  ordinary  records  of  crime.  Yet  it 
was  all  done  from  a  religious  motive,  as  well  as  for  love  of 
plunder.  Strange  that  it  could  be  so  !  The  legend  that 
accounts  for  their  oricrin  is  as  follows :    A  lonor  while  agfo 


THE  GODDESS  KALI. 


IDOI.  OF  THE  BLOODY  GODDESS  KALI,  AT  CAT  CUTTA,  INDIA. 


HINDU  TEMPLES,  IDOLS  AND   WORSHIP.  243 

a  giant  demon  infested  this  world  destroying  mankind. 
The  goddess  Kali,  to  save  mankind  from  utter  destruc- 
tion, attacked  this  demon  and  cut  him  down ;  but  from 
the  drops  of  blood  that  fell  to  the  ground  immediately 
there  sprang  up  other  demons — a  host  of  them.  Then  Kali 
created  two  men,  to  whom  she  gave  handkerchiefs,  and 
whom  she  taught  to  strangle  the  demons  without  shed- 
ding blood.  This  was  done,  lest  if  their  blood  be  shed 
more  demons  should  spring  up.  Kali  intended  in  this 
way  to  destroy  the  whole  bruod.  When  these  men  had 
strangled  all  the  demons,  she  bade  them  strangle  men 
in  the  same  way,  to  repay  her  for  her  service  to  man- 
kind.    From  these  two  men  the  Thugs  came. 

The  Thugs  were  born  such;  at  each  one's  hearthstone 
his  children  were  trained  to  the  work  of  becoming  mur- 
derers.    The   handkerchief  with  which  the  victim  was 
strangled,  and  the  pick-axe  with  which  his  grave  was  dug, 
were  obtained  from  the  priest,  and  were  regarded  as  very 
■sacred.     Their  method  of  procedure  was  like  this:  They 
waited  about  the  Inns  or  loitered  along  the  roads  waiting 
for  travelers  to  overtake  them.     The  Thug  and  his   in- 
tended victim  would  journey  together,  and,  little  by  lltde, 
he  would  worm  out  of  him  all  his  plans  and  intended 
movements.     Thus  the  Thug  could  decide  on  the  most 
suitable  place  and   time.     When   they  came   to  this,  he 
would  throw  his  strip  of  cloth  about  the   unsuspecdng 
stranger's  neck  and  draw  it  tighter  and  tighter  until  he 
was  suffocated.     If  the  Thugs  traveled  together  with  a 
party  of  merchants,  each  selected  his  vicdm,  and  all  were 
strano-led  toeether.     After  death  a  hole,  about  three  feet 
■deep,  was  dug,  and   the   corpse  was  burled  face  down- 
wards.    The  ereatest  care  was  taken  to  shed  no  blood, 
and  the   whole  was  generally  done  under  cover  of  the 
darkness  of  nlorht.     The  whole  sect  was  so  banded  to- 


^..  EEROM  S    ChAJi\S. 

244 

gether,  having  their  scouts  and  spies,  and  systems  ot 
signaling  one  another,  when  they  performed  their  work, 
that   they  were    rarely  detected.     Every   year   several 


NIGHT  FEAST  OF  THE  BLOODY  GODDESS,  KALI. 


thousands  of  persons  lost  their  lives  at  the  hands  of  the 
Thugs.  In  the  year  1826  the  British  government  first 
discovered  their  existence.     During  the  period  of  some 


HINDU  TEMPLES,  IDOLS  AND   WORSHIP. 


245 


nine  years  over  fifteen  hundred  of  the  Thugs  were 
arrested  and  executed.  The  sect  is  very  nearly  destroyed 
now.  How  astonishing  that  such  a  sect  should  not 
merely  exist,  but  that  they  should  perform  their  dastardly 
deeds  as  a  relig-ious  service.  The  cannibalism  of  the 
barbarous  South  Sea  Islanders  is  regarded  with  the  great- 
est abhorrence  ;  but  their  ignorance  and  degraded  condi- 
tion lessens  our  condemnation  of  their  abominable  deeds. 
For  the  Thugs,  an  intelligent  people,  living  in  a  semi- 
civilized  land,  with  opportunities  of  getting  knowledge 
far  in  advance  of  the  Islanders  of  the  Pacific,  we  can  see 
almost  no  reason  for  hesitating  to  condemn  most  strongly 
their  awful  practices.  What  a  contrast  is  here  furnished 
between  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ,  with  its  teachings 
of  mercy  and  love, 
and  the  relimon  that 
not  only  tolerated.but 
even  taught,  that  to 
murder  was  to  render 
a  service  to  the  gods. 
Kali's  feasts  were 
generally  held  at 
niofht.  Great  crowds 
of  religious  fanatics 
gathered  around  her 
most  fearful  images. 
These  were  gener- 
ally placed  in  a  grove 
for  this  occasion.  In 
two  of  her  four  hands 
the  idol  held  skulls  ; 
formerly  these  were 
human  skulls,  now 
they  are  made  of  wood 


GODDESS  KALI,  FROM  A  HINDU  PICTURE. 

The  devotees  walk  round  and 


246 


ERR  OR'S   CHA  INS. 


round  the  idol,  bearing  torches,  beating  drums,  and  danc- 
ing in  odd  ways. 

Kali  is  one  of  the  most  celebrated  goddesses  of  all  the 
Hindu  worship,  and  is  the  especial  favorite  divinity  of  the 
people  of  Calcutta.  Her  images  are  very  different,  but  she 
has  always  one  character  ascribed  to  her ;  she  is  cru^l  and  re- 
vengeful. We  meet  her  temples  everywhere — by  the  road- 
side, in  palm  groves,  under  the  wide-spreading  banyan 
tree.  This  goddess  of  destruction  being  more  feared  than 
all  others,  is  worshiped  more  than  all.  She  is  represented 
sometimes  as  standing  on  a  lion  or  a  prostrate  man, 
always  with  four  hands.  These  hold  knives  or  skulls,  or, 
perhaps,  human  heads,  as  already  noticed.  Often  she 
wears  a  necklace  of  skulls.  The  Hindus  bring  to  her 
idols  the  first  fruits  of  the  garden,  vineyard  or  orchard. 
Some  of  Kali's  temples,  like  that  at  Calcutta,  are  beau- 
tifully sculptured,  and  her  idols  decorated  with  precious 
stones. 

TEMPLE  DECORATIONS. 

There  is  one  thing  which  characterizes  almost  all  of 
the  better  Hindu  temples,  this  is  the  exquisite  richness  of 

the  sculptures  w^hich 
decorate  their  walls. 
They  seem  to  trust 
more  to  the  impres- 
sion which  appeals 
to  the  sicrht  make 
upon  the  minds  of 
the  people  than  to 
any  oral  teaching  or 
readings  from  books, 

HINDU  NOTION  OF  THE  UNIVERSE.  ^'^^  Hinclus  are  ac- 

customed   to    depict 
in  these  decorations  the  whole  of  their  mythology,  the 


HINDU  TEMPLES,  IDOLS  AND   WORSHIP. 


legends   of  the  gods,  the   stories  of  the  lives  of  their 
deities,    their   ideas  of  the  future   Hfe,   of  the   present 


248 


ERJiOR'S   CHAINS. 


world  and  the  like.  The  preceding  picture  gives  a  sculp- 
ture representing  the  Hindu  notion  of  the  universe, 
and  of  the  relative  position  of  the  world.  To  the  un- 
tutored Hindu  mind  it  answers  fully  the  question,  How 
is  the  world  upheld?  Of  course  those  Hindus  who  have 
received  the  light  of  a  truly  scientific  education  laugh  at 
such  notions  as  are  here  indicated.  They  know  far 
better,  as  do  we. 

In  the  accompanying  engraving  the  transmigration  of 
the  soul  is  illustrated.     This  is  drawn  from  a  photograph 

of  the  entablature 
of  a  temple  near 
the  foot  of  the 
lofty  Himalayas 
The  sculpture 
which  follows  tells 
of  the  romantic 
adventures  nar- 
rated in  the  Ra- 
mayama.  These 
sculptures  are  the 
common  people's 
teachers  ;  indeed. 
the  world  over,  the 
language  of  pic- 
tures is  far  more 
loved  and  better  understood  than  any  other.  Pictures 
and  sculptures  constitute  the  one  language  intelligible  to 
people  speaking  widely  different  dialects. 

Herein,  too,  is  one  of  the  great  powers  of  heathenism 
over  the  children.  Before  they  can  read  for  themselves 
or  remember  the  doctrines  taught  them,  they  see  the 
pictures  and  enjoy  the  stories  they  communicate.  These 
become  part  of  the  children's  mental  store.     They  are 


ENTABLATURE  FROM  A  HINDU  TEMPLE. 


CHILDREN  AT  WORSHIP  IN  A  TEMPLE  IX  BENAF-FS. 


HINDU  TEMPLES,  IDOLS  AND   WORSHIP. 


251 


realities  to  them. 
They  are  never 
forgotten.  They 
never  lose  their 
power.  This  is 
abundantly  de- 
monstrated in 
the  experience 
of  every  teacher. 
When  verbal  de- 
scription has  fail- 
ed a  picture  has 
made  all  clear. 

BENARES. 

True  Hindus 
consider  the  city 
of  Benares  to  be 
situated  in  the 
very  centre  of  the 
earth,  and  to  be 
the  most  sacred 
city  in  the  world. 
There  are  not 
less  than  80,000 
Brahmins,  or 
"holy  caste" 
Hindus,  residing 
here,  and  the  city 
also  is  stocked 
with  the  so-call- 
ed "  sacred  bulls 
and  sacred  mon-  bas-relief  from  a  hindu  temple. 

keys."     There  are  more   than    1,000  temples  and   over 


2r2  E JUROR'S   CHAINS. 

500,000  enshrined  deities.  More  than  100,000  pilgrims 
visit  Benares  annually,  20,000  of  whom  may  be  seen 
rushing  at  one  time  into  the  River  Ganges,  at  a  given 
signal,  that  they  may  bathe  at  the  proper  moment.  The 
river  is  reached  by  flights  of  broad  steps,  and  on  these 
the  Hindus  pass  the  busiest  hours  of  the  day,  bathing, 
dressing,  saying  their  prayers,  lounging  and  gossiping. 
Benares  is  believed  by  some  to  be  80,000  steps  nearer 
to  heaven  than  any  other  part  of  the  world.  Ten  miles 
around  Benares  is  said  to  be  such  holy  ground,  that  who- 
ever dies  within  this  area  is  sure  of  going  to  heaven, 
however  great  a  sinner  he  may  have  been. 

THE    SACRED    CITY    OF   THE    SIKHS. 

Umritsur,  in  North-western  India,  is  the  holy  city  of 
the  Sikhs.  This  is  a  sect  of  reformed  Hindus,  who  at 
first  rejected  idolatry,  but  who  afterwards  found  its  fasci- 
nation too  strong  for  them.  In  the  centre  of  a  large  tank 
— called  the  Lake  of  Immortality,  because  whoever  bathes 
in  it  is  shielded  from  everlasting  death — is  a  temple  of 
pure  white  marble,  with  a  roof  made  of  plates  of  copper, 
richly  gilded  ;  this  is  called  the  Golden  Temple.  Before 
crossing  the  bridge  or  causeway  to  the  temple,  one  must 
put  off  the  shoes  from  his  feet,  so  holy  is  the  place. 

The  Sikhs  are  very  fanatical,  and  they  do  not  receive 
visitors  with  any  expressions  of  friendliness.  The  city  of 
Umritrur  has  no  celebrity  apart  from  this  temple.  The 
sect  of  the  Sikhs  originated  about  the  middle  of  the  fif- 
teenth century,  and  now  numbers  about  5,000,000. 

CAVE-TEMPLES    OF    ELEPHANTA    AND    GWALIOR. 

In  the  harbor  of  Bombay  is  an  Island  containing  a  cele- 
brated cave-temple.  Hundreds  of  years  ago  the  Hindus 
excavated  this  temple  from  the  solid  rock ;  pillars,  idols 


APPROACH  TO  1 


T  :.E  or  UMRI-J'SUR. 


HINDU  TEMPLES,  IDOLS  AND   WORSHIP.  2^7 

and  chapels  are  all  cut  from  the  one  great  mass  of  stone. 
For  three  hundred  years  past  there  has  been  little  wor- 
ship here.     The  temple  was   devoted  to  the  worship  of 
Siva.     After  ascending  a  flight  of  several  hundred  steps 
we  stand  before  the  great  square  gate-ways.     Immense 
columns  ranging  away  in  the  darkness  support  the  roof 
of  solid  rock.     On  the  walls  are  sculptured  the  fantastic 
forms   of    Brahma,    Vishnu    and    Siva.     The   metamor- 
phoses of  these  are  also  shown  in  sculpture.     The  cave 
is  shaped  like  a  cross.     At  the  end  of  the  main  passage- 
way, opposite  the  principal  gate-way,  is  an  altar  support- 
ing a  gigantic,  three-headed  idol.     The  central  face  is 
•calm  and  benevolent,  the  forehead  is  covered  with  a  lofty 
diadem,  like  a  mitre,  covered  with  delicate  carvings  repre- 
senting necklaces.     The  face  on  the  right  expresses  ter- 
rible rage;  its  mitre  is  covered  with  sculptured  skulls  and 
serpents,  and  its  outstretched  hand  holds  a  cobra.     The 
other  face  is  smiling  and  the  hand  holds  a  flower.     The 
triple  idol  represents  Siva  as  the  passive  god,  the  destroy- 
ing god  and  the  saving  god.     The  sculptures  are  much 
worn  away,  but  enough  remains  to  indicate  the  wondrous 
vmajesty  and  beauty  of  the  Elephanta  Cave. 

At  Gwalior  are  a  number  of  Hindu  temple-caves. 
The  precipitous  sides  of  the  great  mountain  are  cut 
And  carved  into  hundreds  of  statues,  from  one  foot  to 
forty  feet  high,  and  deep  recesses  in  which  they  seem 
hidden  away.  One  of  these  caves  was  probably  made 
about  300  years  after  Christ.  After  passing  throuo-h 
several  archways  we  stand  before  three  idols,  each 
twenty  feet  high.  The  worship  of  these  has  long  since 
ceased,  and  they  only  remain  to  show  us  what  the  people 
of  India  worshiped  hundreds  of  years  ago.  More  than 
-a  thousand  years  before  this  cave  was  excavated,  and 
over  twenty-five  hundred  years  ago,  another  great  cave 


258 


EHROR'S   CHAINS. 


was  prepared    at   Gwalior,    that  of   Ourwhai.      This    is. 
an    old    lain   temple.      For   about   800    feet,    the    hard 


THE  WONDFRFULLY  EXCAVATED  Tl   - 


'■E  OF  ELEPHANTA,  BOMBAY,  INDIA. 


HINDU  TEMPLES,  IDOLS  AND   WORSHIP. 


265 


surface  of  the  rock  has  been  dressed  so  as  to  form  a 
smooth  wall,  and  the  lower  part  of  this  wall  has  been  ex- 
cavated, and  there  the  statues  were  sculptured.  First 
there  are  nine  gigantic  statues,  each  thirty  feet  high,  placed 
in  niches.  Behind  these  is  a  small  chamber  containing 
another  great  statue  in  a  lying  position.  From  this 
chamber  a  door  leads  into  a  tank.  Following  the  paved 
foot-path  which  surrounds  this  tank,  you  come  to  another 
and  larger  chamber,  which  is  specially  dedicated  to  the 
statue  of  Adinath,  thirty-five  feet  high.  Around  the  idol 
are  rich  sculptures,  and  on  the  cushion  on  which  it  sits  is 
a  long  inscription.  This  mountain  contains  twelve 
rooms,  in  each  of  which  are  from  one  to  nine  statues; 
most  of  these  are  from  twenty  to  thirty  feet  high.  For 
nearly  ten  miles  around  this  mountain  are  bas-reliefs, 
statues  and  excavations.  There  is  a  natural  tendency 
among  the  superstitious  people  to  seek  places  of  dark- 
ness for  the  observances 
of  iheir  relig-ious  rites. 
Oftentimes  the  priests 
are  enabled  to  impose 
on  the  credulity  of  the 
people  much  more  easily 
when  they  add  some  ele- 
ment of  weirdness  or 
mystery  to  their  strange 
religious  performances. 

GANESHA,   GOD   OF 
WISDOM. 

Another  exceedingly 
popular  idol  of  the  Hin- 
dus is  that  of  Ganesha, 
the  God  of  Wisdom.    It  image  of  ganesha. 


266 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


is  partly  in  the  shape  of  a  man  and  partly  in  the  shape 
of  an  elephant.  The  children  in  the  schools  are  taught 
to  worship  it,  and  it  is  adored  by  all  who  wish  to  become 


.4.      ^V- ,         / 


A  WAYSIDE  IDOL  OF  GANESHA,  GOD  OF  WISDOM. 


HINDU  TEMPLES,  IDOLS  AND   WORSHIP. 


269 


acquainted  with  Hindu  learning  and  so-called  wisdom. 
The  images  of  this  god  are  not  only  found  in  the  temples 
and  schools,  and  at  the  corners  of  the  streets  in  the 
cities,  but  also  under  the  trees  on  country  roadsides. 

The  sagacity  of  the  elephant  is  well  known,  and  it  is 
presumed  that  the  elephant-idol  is  worshiped  for  this 
reason,  just  as  the  serpent  is  worshiped  as  the  symbol  of 
■cunning,  or  the  sun  as  the  symbol  of  power.  As  of  al- 
most all  the  other  gods,  Ganesha  has  his  festivals,  when 
the  people  come  together  in  great  crowds  to  do  him 
honor.  At  one  of  these  annual  festivals  they  bring  forth 
the  god  Ganesha,  place  him  in  a  boat,  and  accompanied 
with  other  boats  containing  priests  and  musicians,  they 
row  up  and  down  the  Ganges.  The  great  crowds  of 
people  lining  the  shore  fill  the  air  with  their  shouts  and 
songs,  and  the  occasion  is  one  of  exuberant  joy. 

PAGODAS. 

Scattii^red  about  the  large  temple  inclosures  are  great 
pagodas  or  towers.  These  contained  the  rooms  of  the 
priests  and  servants  of  the  temple.  Sometimes  they 
served  simply  as  gate-ways,  at  other  times  they  were  used 
as  houses  for  the  idols.  Rising  high  above  the  sur- 
rounding country,  everywhere  they  could  be  seen  by  the 
people,  and  thus  their  devotion  to  their  idolatrous  wor~ 
ship  was  increased.  The  priests  sought  by  the  use  of 
every  possible  means  to  fix  the  people's  faith  in  their 
idols;  like  Demetrius,  whose  business  of  making  shrines 
in  Ephesus  was  spoiled  by  Paul's  preaching,  these  priests 
do  not  wish  to  lose  their  hold  upon  the  people,  because 
thus  their  means  of  support  would  be  destroyed.  But, 
notwithstanding  all  their  efforts,  they  cannot  hold  the 
people  in  their  bondage,  and  each  year  witnesses  more 
and  more  refusing  to  listen  to  them.     None  of  these 


270 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


great  pagodas  are  new.  For  very  many  years  they  have 
towered  above  the  dwelHngs  of  the  people  in  their 
majestic  grandeur;  when  they  fall  into  decay  they  are 
^  i?S  r^ot   replaced.      Many 

^  of  these  pagodas  are 

11  several     hundreds    of 

H   feet  high,  and  are  cov- 

^  ered    with     sculptures 

^^  representing  scenes  in 

the  lives  of  the  gods 

of   the   temple,   or    of 

eminent  saints. 

Another  famous  pa- 
goda is  at  Pondicherry,. 
in  Southern  India.  The 
gate-way  to  this  tem- 
ple is  most  intricately 
carved.  The  heathen 
aim  to  set  forth  in  a 
durable  way,  as  by 
these  sculptures,  the 
parts  of  their  worship. 
They  depend  largely 
upon  the  sight  for  in- 
structing the  people  in 
their  faith,  rather  than  upon  their  hearing,  preaching,  or 
reading  sacred  books. 

The  interiors  as  well  as  the  exteriors  of  these  temples 
are  covered  with  sculptures.  The  service  is  in  nowise 
like  that  in  Christian  churches.  The  people  come  and 
go  as  they  please.  They  beat  the  drums  to  call  the  at- 
tention of  the  gods  to  the  prayers  they  are  about  to  offer, 
rub  their  hands  together  as  they  mumble  over  some 
prayers,  leave  their  offerings  before  the  idol  of  stone  or 


GATE-WAY  OF  MADURA  TEMPLE 


HINDU  TEMPLES,  IDOLS  AND   WORSHIP.  27I 


PAGODA  or  rONDICIiEKKV,  FAMED  YOV.  ITS  SCULPTURE. 

wood,   and   go   away   believing   that   dangers    will    be 
averted,  or  that  good  fortune  will  come  to  them. 


2/2 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


In  Ongole,  near  the  great  pagodas,  the  people  used  to 
be  very  idolatrous,  having  many  idols  in  their  houses  as 
well  as  in  their  temples.  But  even  here  they  are  rapidly 
losing  their  faith  in  their  idols.    Recently,  in  a  single  year, 

20,000  people  in  this  district  became  Christians,  and  in 

i!i!!P!ii!ii!ii!i:!;;''iii!fi::.i™,;,ot»i^^^^ 


DISUSED  IDOLS  AND  SACRED  ARTICLES  FROM  ONGOLE,  INDIA. 

one  week  they  brought  to  the  missionaries  a  thousand 
idols  which  they  had  ceased  to  worship. 

HINDU    WASHINGS    FOR    SIN. 

A  writer  for  young  people  thus  describes  the  custom 
of  the  Hindus  resorting  to  the  Ganges,  and  the  reasons 
for  it : 

"  The  heathen  know  well  that  sin  needs  to  be  washed 
away,  but  as  to  how  this  can  be  done  they  have  very 
strange  ideas.  Some  will  walk  through  fire,  as  if  that 
would  burn  away  all  impurities ;  some  will  cover  their 


BIRDS-EYE  VIEW  OF   PAGODAS  AND   TEMPLE  GROUNDS. 
This  view  IS  taken  from  Eagle  Hill,  in  the  .Madras  Presidency,  India.     It  looks  toward  the  east,  and  when  com- 
bined with  its  counterpart,  looking  toward  the  west,  it  shows  the  extent  and  grandeur  of  these  sacred  grounds  and 
buildings  2^^ 


BIRD'S-EYE  VIEW   OF   PAGODAS  AND   TEMPLE   GROUNDS. 
This  view  is  taken  from  Eagle  H.U,  in  the  Madras  Presidency,  India.     It  looks  toward  the  west,  and  when  com- 
bined  w  th  its  counterpart,  looking  toward  the  -ast,  it  shows  the  extent  and  grandeur  of  these  sacred  grounds  and 
buildings.  27  5 


HINDU  TEMPLES,  IDOLS  AND   WORSHIP. 


277 


bodies  with  filth,  as  if  that  would  cleanse  the  soul ;  others 
still  fancy  that  the  water  of  certain  streams  has  power  to 
remove  all  taint  of  sin.  The  Hindus  believe  that  there 
is  wonderful  cleansing  power  in  the  water  of  the  Ganges, 


HINDUS  WASHING  IN  THE  SACRED  RIVER  GANGES  AT  BENARES. 

SO  that  whoever  can  bathe  in  that  river  is  freed  from 
guilt.  From  all  parts  of  India  pilgrims  go  to  the  Ganges, 
and  they  believe  that  whoever  dies  in  that  stream  is  sure 
of  future  bliss.  But  India  is  a  vast  country,  and  com- 
iparatively  few  of  the  poor  people  who  live  in  the  south- 
ern portion  can  travel  the  thousand  miles  or  more  to 
reach  the  Ganges.  Hence  they  have  their  own  sacred 
streams  and  fountains,  which,  thouo-h  not  regarded  as  so 
sacred  as  the  Ganges,  are  yet  supposed  to  have  power 
to  cleanse  from  sin. 

"  Several  years  ago,  in  a  village  near  Madura,  a  Brah- 
min named  Sokappen  read  in  one  of  the  sacred  Hindu 


2  7S 


ERR  OR-  S   CHA  INS. 


books,  that  near  the  temple  of  his  village  there  was  a 
spring  far  under  ground,  and  that  if  one  would  only  dig 

deep  enough  wa- 
?^^  ter  would  flow  at 
^  that  spring  from 
^^  the  Ganofes,  while 
;^  the  river  itself  was 
more  than  eleven 
^^  hundred  miles 
I  away.  The  Brah- 
min thought  that 
^  would  be  a  glori- 
ous work  to  do, 
K  and  so  worked  for 
years,  spending  all 
his  own  money 
and  beororino-  from 
others,  until  he  had 
finished  a  great 
tank  and  walled  it 
with  hewn  stone, 
with  stone  steps 
leading  down  to 
the  sacred  water. 
He  finally  heard 
of  Christ,  and  of 
the  forgiveness  he  offered,  and  since  then  he  has  often 
preached  that  only  the  blood  of  Christ  can  take  away  sin. 
"Though  many  people  of  India  have  now  heard  the 
Gospel,  there  are  yet  millions  who  have  faith  in  their 
sacred  bathing  places.  Those  who  live  too  far  from  the 
Ganges  find  some  river,  if  they  can,  as  at  MowH, 
where  two  rivers,  the  Yenna  and  the  Krishna,  meet,  and 
where  multitudes  bathe.     The  dead,  also,  are  taken  there, 


TEMPLE  OF  THE  SACRED  FOUNTAIN. 


HINDU  TEMPLES,  IDOLS  AND   WORSHIP. 


279 


some  to  be  buried,  as  was  the  'saint'  whom  Mr.  Bruce 
describes,  and  others  to  be  burned,  that  their  ashes  may 
be  mingled  with  the  sacred  waters.  In  the  district  of 
Tinnevelly,  South  India,  is  a  famous  artificial  tank.  It  is 
sometimes  called  the  *  Sea  of  Sacred  Milk.'  Granite 
steps  lead  down  to  the  water's  edge,  and  in  the  early 
morning  hundreds  of  men  and  women  gather  to  bathe 
and  to  worship  the  sun.  The  water  is  stagnant  and 
dirty,  though  it  is  esteemed  as  specially  holy.  Here  the 
people  wash  not  only  themselves,  but  also  their  clothes. 
The  cost  of  building  these  bathing  places  is  immense,  yet 
the  people  build  them  in  many  parts  of  India  because 
they  think  that,  at  any  cost,  provision  should  be  made 
for  the  removal  of  sin.  They  know  of  no  better  way 
than  by  bathing  in  these  filthy  places." 

HINDU    HOLY    MEN,    DEVOTEES    AND    FAKIRS.      . 

One  singular  feature  of  the  Brahmin  worship  is  the 
ways  the  worship- 
ers devised  to  show 
their  zeal.  They 
built  great  temples, 
carved  immense 
idols,  and  brought 
great  riches  into  the 
temple  treasuries. 
They  would  per- 
form the  stranofest 
penances,  the  like 
of  which  was  never 
seen  elsewhere  in 
all  the  world.  The 
superior  priests 
never  show  them- 
17 


THE  I'AKIR  OF  THE  IMMOVABLE  FOOT. 


28o 


ERROR'S    CHAINS. 


selves  but  with  great  pomp. 


With  guards  of  cavalry 
preceding    them 
they    will     ride 
on  richly  capari- 
soned  elephants 
through   the   tri- 
umphal   arches 
prepared     for 
them,    while    the 
people    bow    as 
they  pass.     The 
lower  priests  re- 
nounced     every 
display,      indeed 
they    sought    its 
opposite;  with 
them    the    vilest 
uncleanness  was 
most     allied     to 
godliness.  There 
was,  and  is,  one 
order  of  priests 
known  as  Fakirs, 
who   excelled   in 
self-tortures. 
They  often  give 
up    all    clothing, 
sometimes  sit- 
ting in  a  bed  of 
ashes.      Often 
they  forge  great 
iron  collars  about 

their  necks,  or  heavy  iron  bands  upon  arms  and  ankles. 

Some  let  their  hair  grow  long  and  never  comb  it.     Their 


THE  HOLY  MAN  WITH  THE  IRON  COLLAR. 


HINDLT  TEMPLES,  IDOLS  AND   WORSHIP. 


281 


THE  FAKIR  OF  THE  LONG  HAIR. 


bodies  are  covered  with  vermin ;  sometimes  they  will  hold 
an  arm  or  leg  in  a  fixed  position,  never  moving  it.  Until 
recently  they  would  often  fasten  hooks  in  their  flesh  on 


282 


ERUOH'S  CHAINS. 


their  backs,  then  be  elevated  into  the  air,  and  be  dragged 
through  the  streets  by  the  people.  By  many  such  horrible 
acts  they  hoped  to  earn  an  entrance  into  a  happier  life. 
The  people  regarded  these  men  as  unusually  holy ;  they^ 
sought  them  for  cures,  and  for  relief  from  sorrows.  At 
the  great  idol  festivals  these  Fakirs  were  preseiiC  «» 
crowds. 


A  FAKIR    WHO  Nkl'ER  HELPS  HIMSELF. 

In  India,  China  and  Japan,  there  are  a  great  many  men 
called  "devotees,"  who  give  themselves  up  to  miserable 
lives ;  many  of  them  hoping  by  this  means  to  obtain  the 
favor  of  the  gods  in  whom  they  believe  and  great  hap- 


HINDU  TEMPLES,  IDOLS  AND   WORSHIP. 


283 


piness  after  death.  Some  of  them,  however,  are  moved 
more  by  a  desire  to  obtain  money  and  honor  from  their 
fellow-men,  and  they  think  it  a  respectable  and  honor- 
able way  of  getting  a  living.  Most  of  the  people  fear 
rather  than  respect  these  devotees,  thinking  some  evil 
will  follow  if  they  displease  them,  or  fail  to  give  them 
what  they  want.  Many  of  these  devotees,  in  all  three  of 
the  countries  named,  spend  their  time  wandering  from 
place  to  place,  and  making  long  pilgrimages  to  famous  tem- 
ples. Others  torture 
themselves  in  all  im- 
aginable ways.  Some 
repeat  the  name  of 
their  favorite  idol  dur- 
ing all  their  hours  of 
wakefulness.  Some 
bathe  very  frequently, 
while  others  do  not 
wash  tiiemselves  at 
all,  but  permit  their 
hair,  beard  and  nails  to 
grow  to  great  length ; 
they  wear  little  if 
any  clothing,  their  ^ 
bodies  are  covered 
with  ashes  and  their    ^  hindu  holy  man  torturing  himself 

'  .  BY  HANGING  FROM  A  HOOK. 

whole  appearance   is 

dirty  and  disagreeable.  Some  of  these  devotees  are 
really  sincere  in  denying  themselves  for  their  religion; 
they  feel  the  burden  and  weight  of  their  sins,  and,  know- 
ing not  the  true  way  of  obtaining  pardon  and  peace, 
they  take  these  false  ways. 

Some  of  these  Fakirs  are  but  little  better  than  wild 
beasts,   their  habits  all   tend   to  make  them  so.     They 


284 


ERR  OR' S   CHA  INS. 


o-enerally  live  in  holes  or  caves  or  under  banyan  trees, 
and  they  think  that  they,  by  their  penances,  make  atone- 
ment for  their  own  sins  and  for  those  of  the  people  who 
care  for  them.  Besides  the  penances  already  mentioned, 
we  may  add  that  some  drag  heavy  chains  or  cannon-balls; 
some  crawl  on  their  hands  and  knees  for  years ;  some 
roll  their  naked  bodies  over  and  over  from  the  banks  of 
the   Indus  to  the  banks  of  the  Ganges;  some  stand  for 

life  before  a  slow  fire ;  some 
impose  upon  themselves  a 
silence  of  years,  and  others 
hang  for  hours  head  down- 
wards. All  this  is  done  to 
merit  salvation.  In  no  other 
country  in  the  world,  proba- 
bly, have  so  many  different 
ways  been  devised  by  which 
men  hoped  salvation  would 
be  earned.  Here  again  is 
seen  the  contrast  between 
the  offered  salvationof  Jesus 
Christ  and  the  sought  sal- 
vation by  penances  taught 
by  this  heathen  faith,  most 
striking.  The  British  gov- 
ernment has  now  forbidden 
altogether  many  of  these 
cruel  performances,  and  has  limited  others.  But  earnest 
missionary  work  has  done  more  than  anything  else  to 
destroy  the  people's  faith  in  the  sanctity  and  wisdom  of 
these  so-called  holy  men. 

Mr,  Bruce,  an  American  missionary  at  Satara,  records 
an  event  which  in  its  day  caused  great  excitement.  This 
is  his  story: 


FAKIR  HANGING  TO  A  LIMB. 


HINDU  TEMPLES,  IDOLS  AND   WORSHIP. 


285 


Three  or  four  years  ago  when  we  went  into  Satara, 
we  used  to  see,  sitting  in  the  veranda  of  his  house,  an 
old   man  covered  with  raes  and  surrounded  with  filth. 
Sometimes  we  would  see  him  on   the  street,  with  rags 
innumerable  upon  his  person.     In  America  we  should 
have  called  him  a  crazy  man,  but  ideas  differ  in  different 
lands.     Here  he  was  a  ''saint''  in  whom  one  of  the  gods 
dwelt.     When   his  saintship  came   to  be  known  by  the 
populace,  he  was  honored 
and  worshiped  everywhere. 
Men    who   ought   to  have 
known  better  would,  on  see- 
ing   him    approach,    leave 
their   work,    and    run   and 
prostrate  themselves  at  his 
feet.      His    raofs   were    re- 
moved,  and  he  was  clothed 
with  a  rich  robe  of  purple. 
No  expense  was  spared  to 
supply   all  his   wants,  and 
he  was  attended  to  by  two 
servants,  furnished  by  the 
Prince    of  Ouah.     At  last 
this     rag- man,     crazy-man, 
saint,  died.      He    had    said 
previously,     "Wherever    I 
die,  there  let  my  tomb  be 
built."     He  died  in  the  city,  and  there  the  people  wished 
to  bury  him  and  erect  a  tomb  which  should  ever  after  be 
an  object  of  worship.     But  the  municipal  officers  inter- 
fered and  ordered  the  body  to  be  removed  from  the  city. 
Then  they  buried  him  in  the  temple  grounds,  andanothcr 
god  was  added  to  the  millions  of  Hindu  deities. 

This  story  will  serve  to  illustrate  the  delusion  unc'r^r 


DEVOTEi:  HXnURING  FIRE. 


286 


EEJiOR'S   CHAINS. 


I  AKIR  OF  THK  LONG  NAILS. 
The  growth  of  the  nails  shows  how  long  the  hand  has  been  held  in  this  one  position. 


HINDU  TEMPLES,  IDOLS  AND   WORSHIP.  28? 

which  the  Hindus  are  resting,  and  the  readiness  with 
which  they  yield  their  faith  to  any  pretender  that  comes 
alone.  The  climate  of  India  awakens  a  dull,  lethargic 
condition.  The  activity  of  Western  nations  is  unknown. 
The  people  are  accustomed  to  move  slowly  and  to  avail 
themselves,  as  far  as  possible,  of  all  the  helps  obtainable 
to  lessen  the  toils  of  daily  life.  This  also  leads  them  to 
fall  in  readily  with  the  declarations  of  any  foolish  fanatic 
who  may  arise,  rather  than  to  go  to  the  trouble  of  sifting 
them  and  rejecting  them  as  they  deserve.  The  whole 
■system  of  Hinduism  lends  its  aid  to  this.  It  is,  itself,  a 
gigantic  system  of  fraud.  The  Hindu  priests  laugh  in 
their  sleeves  at  the  folly  of  the  multitudes  in  listening  so 
readily  to  their  instructions.  But  few  of  them  have  any 
faith  in  the  millions  of  gods,  whose  representatives  they 
are.  This  is  their  profession,  by  their  priesthood  they 
■obtain  their  living,  and,  consequently,  they  do  all  they 
can  to  make  their  religion  predominant  in  all  the  affairs 
of  their  neighborhoods.  Hence  it  comes  about,  that 
instead  of  at  once  exposing  the  pretensions  of  Fakirs, 
holy  men  and  devotees,  they  lend  their  aid  to  gain  accept- 
ance for  them  with  the  multitude.  So  India  groans 
beneath  this  oppressive  load  of  priestcraft;  each  day  the 
priests  add  link  after  link  to  the  chains  that  bind  her; 
some  day,  though,  she  will  arise  in  her  might  and  cast  off 
Tier  burdens,  walking  in  freedom.  Christian  mission 
work  will  speed  the  coming  of  that  day. 


288 


ERBOR'S   CHAINS. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

HINDU    SACRED    BOOKS,  FAIRY    STORIES    AND    FIRESIDE   TALES- 

Not  only  in  the  writings  of  the  later  Stoicism,  vvhen  already  through, 
the  despairing  twilight  a  luminous  haze  had  been  diffused,  not  only  in 
the  open  plagiarisms  of  the  Koran,  spoiled  so  often  in  the  plagiarizing, 
but,  even  centuries  before  Christ,  in  the  Dialogues  of  Socrates,  in  the 
Republic  of  Plato,  in  the  Analects  of  Confucius,  in  the  Laws  of 
Manou,  in  the  Sutras  of  the  Buddhists,  in  the  Vedas  of  the  Brah- 
mins, in  the  Zend  Avesta  of  the  Parsees,  in  the  Pirke  Avoth  of  the 
Rabbis,  there  are  unquestionably  precepts  which  might  be  combined 
into  a  very  pure  and  noble  code. — Frederick  W.   Farrar. 

THE  sacred  books  of  the  Hindus  are  written  in 
the  Sanskrit  language.  They  all  fall  under  two 
grand  divisions,  S'ruti  and  S'mriti.  S'ruti  means 
"that  which  is  heard  or  revealed,"  and  S'mriti  means 
"  that  which  is  remembered  and  handed  down  by  tradi- 
tion." In  the  first  division  are  included  the  Vedas,  in  the 
second  the  later  Sanskrit  literature.  There  are  four 
Vedas  (pronounced  by  the  Hindus,  Vads).  The  Rig- 
Veda,  containing  1,017  hymns  of  praise  of  the  per- 
sonified powers  of  nature.  The  Atharva-Veda  is  com- 
posed of  verses  used  as  magical  spells  or  incantations  for 
calline  down  or  turnino^  off  evils.  It  had  its  orio-in  in  a 
superstitious  belief  in  the  power  of  evil  spirits.  The 
Yajur  (or  Yazur)  Veda  contains  hymns  and  texts  ar- 
ranged for  sacrificial  ceremonies.  The  Sama-Veda  re- 
produces  many  of  the  hvmns  of  the  Rig-Veda  re-arranged 
for  worship. 

Each  of  these  Vedas  consists  of  three  parts,  the  Man- 
tras or  original  hymns ;    then  the   Brahmanas   or  pure 


HINDU  SACRED  BOOKS,  FAIRY  STORIES,  ETC. 


289 


commentaries  on  these  hymns,  and  to  these,  philosophical 
treatises  called  Upanishads  were  attached. 

All  these  are  believed  to  have  been  given  by  the  gods, 


HINDU  FESTIVAL  OF  THE  NEW  MOON. 

having  no  human   author.     As  we  should  say  they  are 
believed  to  be  divinely  inspired. 

Of  the  second  sort  of  sacred  books,  the  S'mriti,  there 


2QQ  ERROR'S   CHAINS. 

are  four  ciasses.  The  six  Vedangas,  first,  the  rules  for  sac- 
rifices; second,  the  book  of  the  science  of  pronunciation  ; 
third,  of  metre;  fourth,  of  exposition  of  the  Vedas;  fifth, 
of  grammar,  sixth,  of  astronomy.  Next  come  the 
S'marta-sutras  or  books  relating  to  domestic  rites  and 
to  conventional  usages.  Then  follow  the  Dharma-shas- 
tras  or  "Law-books,"  the  code  of  Manu  and  other  in- 
spired law-givers.  Lastly,  we  have  the  Itihasas  or 
legendary  poems,  the  Mahabarata,  or  cyclopaedia  of 
Hindu  traditions,  legends,  morals  and  philosophy,  and 
the  Ramayana.  This  last  contains  the  story  of  the  wan- 
derings of  Rama,  told  in  24,000  stanzas. 

THE    VEDIC    HYMNS. 

The  word  Veda  means  "knowledge."  The  hymns  of 
the  Rig- Veda  were  written  between  1,500  and  1,000 
years  before  Christ,  about  the  time  of  Moses.  They 
contain  many  tedious  repetitions,  but  yet  are  highly  inter- 
estino-  as  showinQ-  what  the  ancient  Hindus,  and  more 
especially  what  the  forefathers  of  this  part  of  the  race, 
believed.  Many  of  these  hymns  were  sung  by  our 
Aryan  forefathers  before  they  scattered  to  settle  in  India 
or  in  th(i  wilds  of  Western  Europe.  We  have  before 
given  a  specimen  of  these  early  hymns.  We  give  here 
another  that  seems  to  show  that  in  the  beeinnin^-  the 
ancient  Hindus  worshiped  but  one  God. 

"What  god  shall  we  adore  with  sacrifice? 
Him  let  us  praise,  the  golden  child  that  rose 
In  the  beginning,  who  was  born  the  lord — 
The  one  sole  lord  of  all  that  is — who  made 
'I'he  earth,  and  formed  the  sky,  who  giveth  life, 
Who  giveth  strength,  whose  bidding  gods  revere, 
W  lose  hiding-place  is  immortality. 
Wh(jse  shadow,  death  ;  who  by  his  mignt  is  king 
Of  all  the  breathing,  sleeping,  waking  world. 


HINDU  SACRED  BOCKS,  FAIRY  STORIES,  ETC.  29I 

Where'er  let  loose  in  space,  the  mighty  waters 

Have  gone,  depositing  a  fruitful  seed, 

And  generating  fire,  there  he  arose 

Who  is  the  breath  and  life  of  all  the  gods, 

Whose  mighty  glance  looks  round  the  vast  expanse 

Of  watery  vapor — source  of  energy. 

Cause  of  the  sacrifice — the  only  God, 

Above  the  gods." 

The  next  selection  shows  how  the  worship  of  one 
God  passed  into  the  worship  of  many  gods,  and  explains 
the  origin  of  caste.  The  previous  selection  was  written 
long  before  this  one : 

"  The  embodied  spirit  has  a  thousand  heads, 
A  thousand  eyes,  a  thousand  feet,  around 
On  every  side  enveloping  the  earth. 
Yet  filling  space  no  larger  than  a  span. 
He  is  himself  this  very  universe; 
He  is  whatever  is,  has  been,  and  shall  be; 
He  is  the  lord  of  immortality. 
All  creatures  are  one-fourth  of  him,  three-fourths 
Are  that  which  is  immortal  in  the  sky. 
From  him,  called  Purusha,  was  born  Viraj, 
And  from  Viraj  was  Purusha  produced. 
Whom  gods  and  holy  men  made  their  oblation, 
With  Purusha  as  victim,  they  performed 
A  sacrifice.     Why  did  they  divide  him? 
How  did  they  cut  him  up?  What  was  his  mouth? 
What  were  his  arms  ?  and  what  his  thighs  and  feet  ? 
The  Brahmin  was  his  mouth,  the  kingly  soldier 
Was  made  his  arms,  the  husbandman  his  thighs, 
The  servile  Sudra  issued  from  his  feet." 

The  common  creed  of  the  Hindus,  as  gathered  from 
the  Brahmanas  and  Upanishads,  is  as  follows  : 

I.  The  immortality  of  the  soul.  Meaning  by  this, 
however,  not  only  that  it  will  always  live  in  the  future, 
but  that  it  has  always  lived  in  the  past,  hence  we  may 
say,  the  eternity  of  the  soul. 


292 


EUR  OR' S   CHAINS. 


2.  Nothing  can  come  from  nothing,  and  hence,  all  of 
the  substance  of  the  universe  is  eternal. 


IDOLS  GUARDING  THE  HiNDU  TEMPLE  AVENAR. 

3.  The  soul  cannot  exercise  thought,  or  any  activity 
apart  from  the  body. 


HINDU  SACRED  BOOKS,  FAIRY  STORIES,  ETC.  293 

4.  Yet  the  union  ,of  body  and  soul  is  a  source  of 
misery  to  human  beings. 

5.  Hence  we  have  the  behef  in  the  trayismigration  of 
the  soul.  That  the  soul  passes  from  body  to  body  through 
innumerable  chano-es.  These  bodies  include  the  widest 
rangfe  and  are  those  of  animals  or  of  men. 

o 

THE    LAW-BOOK   OF    MANU. 

This  was  written  about  the  fifth  century  before  Christ. 
Its  rules  consist  of  "  immemorial  or  approved  practices," 
■**  practices  of  law  and  government,"  "  penitential  exer- 
cises," and  "  consequences  of  acts."  The  whole  is  di- 
vided into  twelve  books,  of  which  we  give  an  epitome : 

After  an  account  of  the  creation  of  the  world,  in  the 
first  book,  the  four  stages  of  a  Brahmin's  life  are  the  only 
subjects  treated  of  in  regular  order  in  the  second,  third, 
fourth,  fifth  and  sixth  books,  four  books  being  devoted  to 
the  duties  of  the  religious  student  and  married  house- 
liolder,  and  the  sixth  book  treating  of  the  two  last  stages 
of  anchorite  and  relio-ious  mendicant. 

The  seventh  and  eighth  books  propound  the  rules  of 
government,  principally,  of  course,  for  the  guidance  of 
the  second  great  class  of  Kshatriyas,  from  which  the  king 
was  chosen.  The  ninth  book  contains  precepts  on  the 
subject  of  women,  husbanci  and  wife  ;  their  offspring  and 
the  law  of  inheritance  and  division  of  property,  with  ad- 
ditional rules  for  kings,  and  a  few  precepts  relative  to 
the  two  remaining  castes.  It  also  describes  the  employ- 
ments to  which  the  several  castes  are  restricted,  and 
states  the  occupations  permitted  to  Brahmins,  Kshatriyas, 
Vais'yas  and  S'udras,  in  times  of  exigency  and  distress. 
The  eleventh  book  gives  rules  of  expiation,  both  for  the 
•sins  of  the  present  life — especially  sins  against  caste — 
and   for  the   effects   of  offenses   committed  in  previous 


2QA  ERRORS   CHAINS. 

bodies,  as  shown  in  congenital  diseases,  etc.  The  twelfth 
continues  the  subject  of  the  recompenses  or  consequences 
of  acts,  good  or  bad,  as  leading  to  reward  in  Heaven  or 
punishment  in  various  hells,  and  to  triple  degrees  of 
transmiofration.  It  closes  with  directions  as  to  the  best 
means  of  obtaining  final  beatitude  and  absorption  into 
the  urtiversal  essence. 

A  few  specimens  of  Manu's  moral  precepts  are  here 
subjoined : 

"Daily  perform  thine  own  appointed  work 
Unweariedly ;  and  to  obtain  a  friend — 
A  sure  companion  to  the  future  world- 
Collect  a  store  of  virtue  like  the  ants, 
Who  garner  up  their  treasures  into  heaps ; 
For  neither  father,  mother,  wife,  nor  son, 
Nor  kinsman,  will  remain  beside  thee  then, 
When  thou  art  passing  to  that  other  home — 
Thy  virtue  will  thy  only  comrade  be. 

"Single  is  every  living  creature  born. 
Single  he  passes  to  another  world, 
Single  he  eats  the  fruits  of  evil  deeds. 
Single  the  fruit  of  good  ;  and  when  he  leaves 
His  body  like  a  log  or  heap  of  clay 
Upon  the  ground,  his  kinsmen  walk  away : 
Virtue  alone  stays  by  him  at  the  tomb. 
And  bears  him  through  the  dreary,  trackless  gloom. 

"Depend  not  on  another,  rather  lean 
Upon  thyself;  trust  to  thine  own  exertions 
Subjection  to  another's  will  gives  pain; 
True  happiness  consists  in  self-reliance. 

"Strive  to  complete  the  task  thou  hast  commenced; 
Wearied,  renew  thy  efforts  once  again; 
Again  fatigued,  once  more  the  work  begin; 
So  shalt  thou  earn  success  and  fortune  win." 

There  are,  in  addition  to  the  Code  of  Manu,  at  least 
nineteen  other  codes  of  various  degrees  of  authority. 


HINDU  SACRED  BOOKS,  FAIRY  STORIES,  ETC. 


295 


DEGRADATION    OF    WOMEN    ACCORDING    TO    MANU  S    LAWS. 

A  certain  Shaster  commands :  "  If  a  man  goes  on  a 
journey,  his  wife  shall  not  divert  herself  by  play,  nor  shall 
see  any  public  show,  nor  shall  laugh,  nor  shall  dress  her- 
self in  jewels  or  fine  clothes,  nor  hear  music,  nor  shall  sit 
at  the  window,  nor  shall  behold  anything  choice  and  rare, 
but  shall  fasten  well  the  house  door  and  remain  private, 
and  shall  not  eat  any  dainty  food,  and  shall  not  blacken 
her  eyes  with  powder,  and  shall  not  view  her  face  in  a 
mirror  She  shall  never  amuse  herself  in  any  such 
agreeable  employment  during  the  absence  of  her  hus- 
band." 

The  following  incidents  will  show  how  the  laws  of 
Manu,  in  the  case  of  women,  are  carried  out. 

Miss  Brittan,  for  many  years  a  missionary  in  India, 
says:  "When  I  teach  in  one  house,  I  sit  up-stairs  in  a 
little  veranda,  which  is  walled  all  around.  Into  the  ve- 
randa a  strongly-barred  window  opens,  behind  which  sit 
the  women  who  are  being  taught,  passing  their  books  and 
work  through  the  bars.  I  always  think  of  our  Saviour's 
words  when  visiting  them — '  I  was  in  prison,  and  ye  came 
unto  me.'  A  woman,  whose  eyes  filled  with  tears  when 
she  saw  a  flower  which  was  brought  her  to  copy  in  wool, 
said :  Ah,  this  reminds  me  of  the  time  when  I  was  a 
child,  for  there  were  others  like  this  in  my  father's  gar- 
den, and  I  have  not  seen  it  for  so  long.'  Then,  pointing 
a  few  yards  before  her  to  a  high  wall  covered  with  dirt 
and  moss,  she  added  :  '  That  is  the  only  prospect  I  have 
had  for  years.'  .  .  .  Yesterday,  I  entered  a  house  which 
was  exactly  like  those  I  had  read  of  before  I  came  to 
India.  The  Baboo,  or  gentleman  of  the  house,  had  a 
suite  of  rooms  furnished  elegantly — rich  carpets,  sofas, 

chairs,  beautiful   oaintings  and  statuary,  with   a  centre- 

.     18 


296 


ERJiOK'S   CHAINS. 


table  covered  with  vases  and  curiosities.  It  really  was 
refreshing  to  see  such  beauty  and  elegance.  But,  alas  ! 
I  was  shown  to  the  women's  apartments,  and  the  tears 
would  come  to  my  eyes,  notwithstanding  my  efforts  to 
restrain  them.  Ah,  how  sad !  The  Baboo  spoke  Eng- 
lish to  me,  and  was  a  o-entleman.  His  wife  sat  on  a 
dirty  mat,  which  was  thrown  on  a  damp  stone  floor,  her 
hair  uncombed,  her  one  article  of  clothing — a  sarree — 
wretchedly  dirty,  and  the  appearance  of  everything  in  the 
bare,  miserable  little  room  she  lived  in  was  that  of  lowest 
heathenism.  As  I  saw  no  chair,  I  sat  down  on  the  mat 
beside  the  woman  until  a  servant  brought  me  one,  which 
he  said  the  Baboo  had  sent  me." 

A  well-known  missionary  relates  the  following  illustra- 
tive incident: 

"  One  day,  when  I  was  walking  in  a  retired  village,  my 
attention  was  arrested  by  seeing  two  objects,  at  some 
distance  before  me,  rolling  in  the  mud.  As  I  approached 
the  spot,  I  found  two  females  almost  exhausted  by 
fatigue.  I  learned  that  they  had  vowed  to  their  goddess 
to  roll  in  this  manner  from  one  temple  to  another.  They 
had  spent  nearly  a  week,  and  had  not  accomplished  one- 
half  their  journey.  But  no  arguments,  no  remonstrances 
on  my  part  could  induce  them  to  relinquish  their  under- 
taking. On  leaving  them,  I  indignantly  expostulated 
with  a  learned  Brahmin,  who  stood  near  by,  and  pointed 
to  the  miserable  objects  I  had  just  left.  '  Oh,'  said  he, 
*■  this  Is  worship  exactly  suited  to  the  capacity  of  females. 
Let  them  alone  ;  they  are  sincere.  Of  course,  their  wor- 
ship will  be  accepted.'  " 

THE    BURNING    OF    WIDOWS    COMMANDED    BY    MANU. 

Until  a  comparatively  recent  date,  the  fearful  rite  of 
Suttee   has  been  practiced  openly  in  India  by  all  high- 


HIND U  SA CRED  B O OKS,  FAIRY  S TORIES,  ETC.  297 


HINDU  WOMEN  RESCUED  FROM  THEIR  DEGRADATION. 


298 


EJi ROE'S   CHAINS. 


caste  people.  The  ancient  Vedas  and  the  Institutes  of 
Manu,  which  are  second  in  authority,  do  not  enjoin  this 
rite  ;  but  the  Shasters  and  Puranas,  which  hold  about  the 
same  relation  to  the  Vedas  that  the  Jewish  Talmud  does 
to  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures,  recommend  the  flames 
of  the  funeral  pile  as  the  widow's  sure  road  to  eternal  joy 
and  peace.  The  following  passages,  selected  from  many 
similar  ones,  translated  by  our  missionaries  from  the  Pu- 
ranas and  Shasters,  will  be  sufficient  for  our  purpose: 

"If  a  woman  who  had  despised  her  lord,  or  done  what 
was  contrary  to  his  mind,  should  (even)  from  mercenary 
motives  or  fear,  or  from  a  suspension  of  the  reasoning 
power,  die  with  her  husband,  she  shall  be  purged  from 
all  crimes. 

"As  the  snake-catcher  draws  the  serpent  from  its  hole, 
so  she  (no  matter  how  great  his  sins),  by  burning,  rescues 
her  husband  from  hell,  and  rejoices  with  him. 

"  The  woman  w^ho  expires  on  the  funeral  pile  with  her 
husband  purifies  the  family  of  her  father,  her  mother  and 
her  husband.  If  the  husband  be  a  Brahmincide,  the 
greatest  of  all  criminals,  an  ungrateful  person,  or  a  mur- 
derer of  his  friends,  the  wife,  by  burning  with  him,  purges 
away  his  sins. 

"There  is  no  virtue  greater  than  a  virtuous  woman 
burning  herself  with  her  husband. 

"As  long  as  a  woman,  in  her  successive  transmigrations, 
should  decline  burning  herself  like  a  faithful  wife  on  the 
same  fire  with  her  deceased  lord,  so  long  shall  she  not  be 
exempted  from  springing  to  life  again  in  the  body  of  some 
female  animal. 

**  Though  he,  her  husband,  have  sunk  to  the  region  of 
torment,  be  restrained  in  dreadful  bonds,  have  reached 
the  place  of  anguish,  be  seized  by  the  imp  of  Luma  (the 
Hindu  Pluto,  the  god  of  the  infernal  regions),  be  exhausted 


HINDU  SACRED  BOOKS,  FAIRY  STORIES,  ETC. 


299 


of  Strength,  and  afflicted  and  tortured  for  his  crimes,  still, 
as  a  serpent  catcher  unerringly  drags  a  serpent  from  his 
hole,  so  does  she  draw  her  husband  from  hell,  and  as- 
cends with  him  to  Heaven  by  the  power  of  devotion. 

"  If  the  wife  be  within  one  day's  journey  of  the  place 
where  her  husband  died,  and  she  signify  her  wish  to  be 
burned  with  him,  the  burning  of  the  corpse  shall  be  de- 
layed till  her  arrival. 

"  If  the  husband  be  out  of  the  country  when  he  dies, 
let  the  virtuous  wife  take  his  slippers,  or  anything  which 
belongs  to  his  dress,  and  binding  them,  or  it,  on  her 
breast,  after  purification,  enter  a  separate  fire.  A  Brun- 
hunu  cannot  burn  herself  on  a  separate  pile  ;  but  this  is 
an  eminent  virtue  in  another  woman. 

"  There  are  thirty-five  million  hairs  on  the  human  body. 
The  woman  who  ascends  the  pile  will  remain  so  many 
years  with  her  husband  in  Heaven. 

"  Dying  with  her  husband,  she  purifies  three  genera- 
tions— li^r  father  and  mother's  side  and  her  husband's 
side.  Such  a  wife,  adoring  her  husband,  enters  into 
celestial  felicity  with  him^-greatest  and  most  admired  ; 
lauded  by  the  choirs  of  Heaven,  with  him  she  shall  enjoy 
the  deliofhts  of  Heaven  while  fourteen  Indras  reien." 

THE    GOD    VISHNU    MADE    MAN. 

According  to  the  great  poems,  the  Mahabarata  and  the 
Ramayana,  Vishnu  passed  through  ten  incarnations. 
These  are  frequently  represented  in  sculptures  (see 
illustration).  They  are  I.  Mataya,  the  fish.  According 
to  the  story,  Vishnu  became  a  fish  to  save  Manu  (the 
Noah  of  the  Hindus)  from  the  universal  deluee.  II. 
Kurma,  the  tortoise.  Here  Vishnu  became  a  tortoise  at 
the  bottom  of  the  sea  of  milk,  that  his  back  mieht  serve 
as  a  pivot  for  the  mountain  Mandara,  around  which  the 


300 


ERJiOR'S   CHAINS. 


gods  and  demons  twisted  the  great  serpent  Vasuki. 
They  then  stood  opposite  to  each  other,  and  using  the 
snake  as  a  rope,  churned  the  ocean  of  milk  for  the  pro- 


HINDU  SACRED  BOOKS,  FAIRY  STORIES,  ETC.  ^qI 

duction  of  fourteen  precious  things.  III.  \'arah,  the  boar. 
Vishnu  in  this  form  dehvered  the  world,  after  a  struggle 
of  a  thousand  years,  from  the  demon  who  had  seized  the 
earth  and  carried  it  to  the  lowest  depths  of  the  sea.  IV. 
Nara-sinha,  the  lion.    He  thus  destroyed  another  demon. 

V.  Vamana,  the  dwarf.  He  deprived  the  demon  Bali  of 
the  dominion  of  three  worlds.  He  received  from  Bali 
the  promise  of  as  much  land  as  he  could  step  over  in 
three  paces,  and  then  stepped  over  heaven  and  earth. 

VI.  Parasu-rama  or  Rama  with  the  axe.  VII.  Rama,  the 
hero,  destroying  the  demon  Ravana.  VIII.  Krishna,  the 
dark  destroyer.  IX.  Buddha,  the  enlightened  one.  This 
form  was  devised  to  win  back  the  Hindu  Buddhists  to 
Vishnu's  worship.  X.  Kalki  who  is  yet  to  appear.  He 
will  be  revealed  in  the  sky,  seated  upon  a  white-winged 
horse,  with  a  drawn  sword  like  a  blazing  comet.  He  is 
to  finally  destroy  the  wicked  and  to  permanently  establish 
righteousness  and  truth  upon  the  earth. 

A    SANSKRIT    STORY-BOOK. 

Almost  all  the  Hindus' books  are  .story-books,  for  they 
are  filled  with  accounts  of  the  adventures  of  the  gods 
and  legends  and  myths.  But  there  is  one  book  called 
the  Hitopadesa,  which  has  been  called  the  "  Father  of  all 
Fables."  Its  stories  have  been  translated  into  Persian, 
Arabic,  Hebrew,  Greek  and  later  into  German,  French 
and  English.  This  book  is  very  old  and  is  exceedingly 
popular  in  India.  We  have  selected  four  of  its  stories, 
and  the  reader  will  probably  wonder  that  such  narratives 
should  ever  gain  a  national  popularity. 

THE    STORY    OF    THE    TERRIBLE    BELL. 

"A  thief  had  stolen  a  bell  from  the  city  of  Brahmapoora, 
and  was  making  off  with  that  plunder,  and  more,. into  the 


^Q2  ERROR'S   CHAINS. 

Sei-parrata  hills,  when  he  was  killed  by  a  tiger.  The  bell 
lay  in  the  jungle  until  some  monkeys  picked  it  up,  and 
amused  themselves  by  constantly  ringing  it.  The  towns- 
people found  the  bones  of  the  man,'  and  heard  the  noise 
of  the  bell  all  about  the  hills;  so  they  gave  out  that  there 
was  a  terrible  devil  there,  whose  ears  rang  like  bells  as 
he  swung  them  about,  and  whose  delight  was  to  devour 
men.  Every  one,  accordingly,  was  leaving  the  town, 
when  a  peasant  woman  named  Karala,  who,  liked  belief 
the  better  for  a  little  proof,  came  to  the  Rajah. 

"'Highness!'  she  observed,  'for  a  consideration  I  could 
settle  this  Swing-ear.' 

"'You  could!'  exclaimed  the  Rajah. 

'"I  think  so!'  repeated  the  woman. 

'"Give  her  a  consideration  forthwith,'  said  the  Rajah. 

"Karala,  who  had  her  own  ideas  about  the  matter,  took 
the  present  and  set  oirt.  Beiag  come  to  the  hills,  she 
made  a  circle,  and  did  homage  to  Ganesha,  without  whom 
nothing  prospers.  Then,  taking  some  fruit  she  had 
brought,  such  as  monkeys  love  extremely,  she  scattered  it 
up  and  down  in  the  wood,  and  withdrew  to  watch.  Very 
soon  the  monkeys  finding  the  fruit,  put  down  the  bell,  to 
do  justice  to  it,  and  the  woman  picking  it  up,  bore  it  back 
to  the  town,  where  she  became  an  object  of  uncommon 
veneration." 

THE  STORY  OF  THE  LION  AND  THE  OLD  HARE. 

"On  the  Mandara  Mountain  there  lived  a  Lion  named 
Fierce-of-heart,  and  he  was  perpetually  making  massacre 
of  all  the  wild  animals.  The  thingr  orew  so  bad  that  the 
beasts  held  a  public  meeting,  and  drew  up  a  respectful 
remonstrance  to  the  Lion  in  these  words:  'Wherefore 
should  your  Majesty  make  carnage  of  us  all?  If  it  may 
please  you,  we  ourselves  will  daily  furnish  a  beast  for 


HINDU  SACRED  BOOK'S,  FAIR  V  STORIES,  ETC. 


303 


your  Majesty's  meal.'  The  Lion  responded,  'If  that  ar- 
rangement is  more  agreeable  to  you.  be  it  so;'  and  from 
that  time  a  beast  was  allotted  to  him  daily,  and  daily 
devoured.  One  day  it  came  to  the  turn  of  an  old  hare 
to  supply  the  royal  table,  who  reflected  to  hirnself  as  he 
walked  along,  'I  can  but  die,  and  I  will  go  to  my  death 
leisurely.' 

"Now  Fierce-of-heart,  the  lion,  was  pinched  with  hun- 
ger, and  seeing  the  Hare  so  approaching  he  roared  out, 
'How  darest  thou  thus  delay  in  coming?' 

"'Sire,'  replied  the  Hare,  'I  am  not  to  blame.  I  was 
detained  on  the  road  by  another  lion,  who  exacted  an 
oath  from  me  to  return  when  I  should  have  informed 
your  Majesty.' 

"'Go,'  exclaiirfed  King  Fierce-of-heart  in  a  rage;  'show 
me,  instantly,  where  this  insolent  villain  of  a  lion  lives.' 

"The  Hare  led  the  way  accordingly  till  he  came  to  a 
deep  well,  whereat  he  stopped,  and  said :  '  Let  my  lord, 
the  King,  come  hither,  and  behold  him,'  The  Lion  ap- 
proached, and  beheld  his  own  reflection  in  the  water  of 
the  well;  upon  which,  in  his  passion,  he  directly  flung 
himself,  and  so  perished." 

THE    STORY    OF    THE    BRAHMIN    AND    THE    PANS. 

"There  was  a  Brahmin  in  the  city  of  Vana,  whose 
name  was  Deva  Sarman.  At  the  equinoctial  feast  of  the 
Dussera,  he  obtained  for  his  duxina-gift  a  dish  of  flour, 
which  he  took  into  a  potter's  shed,  and  there  lay  down 
in  the  shade  among  the  pots,  staff  in  hand.  As  he  thus 
reclined  he  began  to  meditate.  'I  can  sell  this  meal  for 
ten  cowry-shells,  and  with  them  I  can  purchase  some  of 
these  pots,  and  sell  them  at  an  advance.  With  all  that 
money  I  shall  invest  in  betel-nuts  and  body-cloths,  and 
make  a  new  profit  by  their  sale ;  and  so  go  on  traffick- 


304 


EEHOR'S   CHAINS. 


ing  till  I  get  a  lakh  of  rupees.  What's  to  prevent  me  ? 
Then  I  shall  marry  four  wives,  and  one  at  least  will  be 
beautiful  and  young,  and  she  shall  be  my  favorite.  Of 
course,  the  others  will  be  jealous  ;  but  if  they  quarrel, 
and  talk,  and  trouble  me,  I  will  belabor  them  like  this — 
and  this — '  and  therewith  he  flourished  his  staff,  to  such 
a  purpose  as  to  smash  his  meal-dish  and  break  several  of 
the  potter's  jars.  The  potter,  rushing  out,  took  him  by  the 
throat,  turned  him  off,  and  ended  his  speculations." 

THE    STORY    OF    THE    RECLUSE    AND    THE    MOUSE. 

"  In  the  forest  of  the  Sage  Gautama  there  dwelt  a  re- 
cluse named  Mighty-at-Prayer.  Once,  as  he  sat  at  his 
frugal  meal,  a  young  mouse  dropped  beside  him  from  the 
beak  of  a  crow,  and  he  took  it  up  and  fed  it  tenderly  with 
rice  grains.  Some  time  after  the  Saint  observed  a  cat 
pursuing  his  dependant  to  devour  it,  whereupon  he 
changed  the  mouse  into  a  stout  cat.  The  cat  was  a  great 
deal  harassed  by  dogs,  upon  which  the  Saint  again  trans- 
formed it  into  a  dog.  The  dog  was  always  in  danger  of 
the  tigers,  andjiis  protector  at  last  gave  him  the  form  of 
a  tiger ;  considering  him  all  this  while,  and  treating  him 
withal,  like  nothing  but  a  mouse.  The  country-folks 
passing  by  would  say,  '  That  a  tiger !  not  he :  it  is  a 
mouse  the  Saint  has  transformed.'  And  the  mouse  being 
vexed  at  this,  reflected,  '  So  long  as  the  Master  lives  this 
shameful  story  of  my  origin  will  survive.'  With  this 
thought  he  was  about  to  take  the  Saint's  life,  when  he, 
who  knew  his  purpose,  turned  the  ungrateful  beast  by  a. 
word  to  his  original  shape," 


SHINTOISM.  THE  NA  TURK-  WORSHIP  OF  JAPAN. 


305 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

JAPAN. 

As  regards  the  beliefs  of  the  ancient  religion,  Shintoism,  it  taught 
primarily  the  existence  of  gods,  and  in  the  division  which  it  made  of 
them  into  good  and  bad,  recognized  that  fundamental  and  eternal 
distinction  between  right  and  wrong,  the  deep  rooting  of  which  in 
the  human  soul  has  been  man's  safeguard  against  what  is  bad  io  reli- 
gions and  in  everything  else. — Sir  Edward  J.  Reed. 

JAPAN  is  one  of  the  most  interesting"  of  countries  to 
the  American  people.  It  is  our  nearest  neighbor  on 
the  west ;  and  America  was  mainly  instrumental  in 
introducing  Japan  into  the  ranks  of  the  nations  of  mod- 
ern times.  The  present  line  of  Mikados  among  the  Jap- 
anese is  the  longrest  continued  amone  existinof  nations. 
China  has  changed  its  dynasties  many  times,  and  has 
been  twice  subdued  by  foreigners,  the  Mongols  and  the 
Manchis;  but  the  line  of  Japanese  monarchs  is  an  un- 
broken series  from  B.  C.  660  to  the  present  day.  The 
Mongols  sought  to  conquer  the  Island  Empire  in  12S1 
A.  D. ;  but  they  were  utterly  defeated  and  driven  away. 
The  present  emperor,  Mutsuhito,  is  the  one  hundred  and 
twenty-third  Mikado  of  Japan. 

The  religions  of  this  people  are  two,  Shintoism  and 
Buddhism.  The  tenets  of  Confucius  have  been  introduced 
together  with  Buddhism,  and  Buddhist  preachers  of  to-day 
take  their  texts  from  the  classic  Chinese  books.  Shinto- 
ism has  been  much  mixed  up  with  Buddhism.  Many 
features  of  its  worship  have  been  changed  in  imitation  of 


3o6 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


Buddhism,  and  some  of  its  esseiitial  doctrines  have  been 
greatly  modified.  There  has  been  some  discussion  as  to 
whether  Shintoism  is  really  a  religion  or  only  a  system 
of  state-craft ;  but  it  is  very  generally  believed  to  be  a 
religion  which  has  degenerated  into  a  mere  system  of 
political  machinery.  Certainly  it  has  gods  and  god- 
desses, and  sacred  symbols,  legends,  myths  and  religious 
notions  which  existed  in  Japan  long  before  Buddhism 
came  there.  There  are  also  sacred  books  which  have  no 
connection  with  the  Buddhist  writings.  The  temples  and 
priests  are  an  innovation  of  later  days.  Shintoism  is  and 
was  the  State  religion ;  it  is  supported  by  the  State ;  its 
head  is  the  emperor,  the  Mikado ;  its  sacred  books  are 
but  the  chronicles  of  its  history,  and  the  whole  system  is 
Interwoven  with  the  national  life  of  Japan. 

THE  SACRED  BOOKS  OF  JAPAN. 

The  Kojiki  and  the  Nihoiiki  are  the  two  most  sacred 
Shinto  books.  The  one  was  written  71 1  A.  D.,  the  other 
720  A.  D.  They  were  composed  long  before  this.  It 
always  has  been  an  Oriental  practice  to  commit  books  to 
memory.  Thus  the  Hindu  and  Parsee  sacred  books  were 
preserved,  and  thus,  too,  the  ancient  Japanese  books  have 
been  kept.  Without  being  written  out,  these  books  were 
handed  down  from  mouth  to  mouth.  Soon  after  the  in- 
vention of  the  Japanese  written  characters,  these  records 
were  reduced  to  writing.  The  story  of  this  is  thus  told : 
"As  to  the  historical  records  of  Japan,  it  Is  first  mentioned 
that,  under  the  twentieth  emperor,  In  415  A.  D.,  officials 
were  sent  into  the  country  to  verify  and  describe  the 
names  of  all  the  families.  Later,  a  transcription  of  these 
records  (originally  written,  in  all  probability.  In  the  old 
Japanese  letters,  'the  gods'  letters,')  In  Chinese  characters 
took  place,  and  In  644  A.  D.  an  historical  account  of  the 


SHINTOISM,  THE  NATURE-WORSHIP  OF  JAPAN,  307 

emperors,  the  country,  the  officials  and  the  people  is  said 
to  have  existed,  which  was  destroyed  when   Iruka  was 
murdered,  and  his  father's  palace,  in  which  these  records 
were  kept,  was  burned.     Only  the  history  of  the  country 
was  saved.     From  this  work,  as  well  as  from  what  the 
old  men  of  the  whole   empire  remembered,  a  new  com- 
pilation was  made  under  the  Emperor  Temmu  (672-686 
A   D^   and  in  order  that  it  might  not  be  lost  agam,  It  was 
read  to  a  peasant  girl,  named  Are,  who  was  said  never  to 
forget  anything  she  had  once  heard.     From  this  record 
and  from  what  Are  still  remembered,  the  first  historical 
record  of  Japan  known  to  us,  the  Kojiki,  was  compiled 
about  thirty  years  later."  _ 

These  works,  though  histories,  strictly  speaking,  are 
full  of  stories  of  mythology,  describing  the  origin  of  gods 
and  men.     The  mythology  of  Japan  is  superior  to  that 
of  Greece      It  contains  but  few  or  none  of  the  horrible 
stories  of  the  gods,  or  the  voluptuous  amours  of  gods 
and  goddesses  which  so  abound  in  Grecian  mythology. 
Some  of  their  myths  are  really  beautiful,  others  are  very 
extravagant.     The  origin  of  gods,  of  men,  of  the  earth, 
are  here  all  described.     It  begins  with  the  time  when 
"Far  in  the  deep  infinitudes  of  space, 
Upon  a  throne  of  silence, 
Sat  Ame-no-mi-naka-nushi-ro-kami. 

This  strange  name  signifies  Tlie  Lord  of  the  Centre 
of  Heaven  The  heavens  and  earth  were  then  joined 
together.  There  was  nothing  but  chaos.  Pairs  of  beings 
were  then  created,  male  and  female.  Last  of  all  Izanag. 
and  Izanami  were  created. 

JAPANESE    STORY    OF    THE    CREATION. 

It  is  said  that  the  other  pairs  of  beings  before  Izanagi 
and  Izanami  were  only  their  imperfect  forms  or  the  pro- 


3o8 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


cesses  through  which  they  passed  before  arriving  ax  per- 
fection. These  two  beings  Hved  in  the  heavens.  The 
world  was  not  yet  well  formed,  and  the  soil  floated  about 
like  a  fish  in  the  water,  but  near  the  surface,  and  was 
called  "The  Floating  Region."  The  sun,  earth  and  moon 
were  still  attached  to  each  other  like  a  head  to  the  neck, 
or  arms  to  the  body.  They  were  little  by  little  separating, 
the  parts  joining  them  growing  thinner  and  thinner. 
This  part,  like  an  isthmus,  was  called  "Heaven's  Floating 
Bridofe."  It  was  on  this  brido-e  that  Izanao-i  and  IzanamI 
were  standing  when  they  saw  a  pair  of  wagtails  cooing 
and  billing  sweetly  together.  The  heavenly  couple  were 
so  delighted  with  the  sight  that  they  began  to  imitate  the 
birds.  Thus  began  the  art  of  love,  which  mortals  have 
practiced  to  this  day. 

While  talking  together  on  this  Bridge  of  Heaven,  they 
began  to  wonder  if  there  was  a  world  beneath  them. 
They  looked  far  down  upon  the  green  seas,  but  could  see 
nothing!  Then  Izanagi  took  his  long  jeweled  spear  and 
plunged  it  into  the  turbid  mass,  turning  it  round  and 
round.  As  he  lifted  it  up,  the  drops  which  trickled  from 
it  hardened  into  earth  of  their  own  accord,  and  thus  dry 
land  was  formed.  As  Izanagi  was  cleansing  his  spear 
the  lumps  of  muck  and  mud  which  had  adhered  to  it  flew 
off  into  space,  and  were  changed  into  stars  and  comets. 
It  is  also  said  that  by  turning  his  spear  round  and  round, 
Izanagi  set  the  earth  revolving  in  its  daily  revolutions. 

To  the  land  thus  formed,  they  gave  the  name  "The 
Island  of  the  Congealed  Drop,"  because  they  intended  to 
create  a  large  archipelago  and  wished  to  distinguish  this 
as  the  first  island.  They  descended  from  Heaven  on  the 
floating  bridge  and  landed  on  the  island.  Izanagi  struck 
his  tall  spear  in  the  ground  making  it  the  axis  of  the 
world.     He  then  proceeded  to  build  a  palace  around  the 


SHINTO  ISM,  THE  NATURE-WORSHIF  OF  JAPAN.  ^OQ. 

spear  which  formed  the  central  pillar.  The  spot  was 
formerly  at  the  North  Pole,  but  is  now  at  Eshima,  off  the 
central  eastern  coast  of  Japan.  They  next  resolved  to 
walk  around  the  island  and  examine  it.  This  done,  they 
met  together.  Izanami  cried  out,  "  What  a  lovely  man  !" 
But  Izanagi  rebuked  her  for  speaking  first,  and  said  they 
must  try  it  again.  Then  they  walked  around  the  island 
once  more.  When  they  met,  Izanami  held  her  tongue 
while  Izanagi  said,  "  What  a  lovely  woman  !" 

Being  now  both  in  good  humor,  they  began  the  work 
of  creating  Japan.  The  first  island  brought  up  out  of 
the  water  was  Anaji ;  and  then  the  main  island.  After 
that,  eight  large  islands  were  created,  whence  comes  one 
of  the  names  of  Japan,  "  The  Empire  of  the  Eight  Great 
Islands."  Six  smaller  islands  were  also  produced.  The 
several  thousand  islets  which  make  up  the  archipelago  of 
"Everlasting  Great  Japan"  were  formed  by  the  spontane- 
ous consolidation  of  the  foam  of  the  sea. 

After  the  country  was  thus  formed  the  divine  pair  cre- 
ated eight  millions  of  earthly  gods  or  Kami,  and  the  ten 
thousand  different  things  on  the  earth.  Vegetation 
sprung  up  over  all  the  land,  which  was,  however,  still 
covered  with  mist.  So  Izanagi  created  with  his  breath 
the  two  gods,  male  and  female,  of  the  wind.  All  these 
islands  are  the  children  of  Izanagi  and  Izanami,  and  when 
first  born  were  small  and  feeble,  but  gradually  grew 
larger  and  larger,  attaining  their  present  size  like  human 
beings,  which  are  at  first  tiny  infants. 

As  the  gradual  separation  of  the  land  and  sea  went  on, 
Soreign  countries  were  formed  by  the  congealing  of  the 
foam  of  the  sea.  The  god  of  fire  was  then  born  of 
Izanami,  his  mothen  This  god  often  became  very  angry 
at  any  one  who  used  unclean  fire.  Izanami  then  created 
by  herself  the  gods  of  metals,  of  clay,  and  of  fresh  water. 


3IO 


JEHJiOA'-S   CHAINS. 


This  latter  god  was  commanded  always  to  keep  the  god 
of  fire  quiet,  and  put  him  out  when  he  began  to  do  mis- 
chief. 

Izanagi  and  Izanami  though  married  but  a  short  time, 
began  to  quarrel,  Izanami  being  very  angry  went  dov/n 
to  the  lower  world  of  darkness  and  disappeared.  In  the 
dark  world  under  the  earth  Izanami  stayed  a  long  time, 
and  after  wearisome  waiting,  Izanagi  went  after  her.  In 
the  darkness  of  the  under-world  he  was  horrified  at  what 
he  saw,  and  leaving  his  consort  below  he  tried  to  save 
himself  and  make  his  escape  to  the  earth  again. 


THE  GOD  CREATED  FROM  IZANAGI'S  STAFF 

In  his  struggles  several  gods  were  created,  one  of  them 
coming  out  of  his  staff.  When  he  got  up  to  daylight, 
he  secured  a  large  rock  to  close  up  the  hole  in  the  earth. 
Turning  this  rock  into  a  god,  he  commanded  him  to 
watch  the  place.     He  then  rushed  into  the  sea,  and  con- 


SHINTO  ISM,  THE  NA  TURE-  WORSHIP  OF  JAPAN.  ■^  j  i 

tinued  washing   for  a  long  time   to   purify  himself.     In 
blowing  out  from  his  lungs  the  polluted  air  inhaled  in  the 
under- world,  the  two  evil  gods  sprang  forth  from  his  breath. 
As  these  would  commit  great  harm  and  wickedness,  Iza- 
nagi  created   two  other  gods  to  correct  their  evil.     But 
when  he  had  washed  his  eyes  and  could  see  clearly  again, 
there  sprang  out  two  precious  and  lovely  beings ;  one  from 
his  left  eye  being  a  rare  and  glistening  maiden,  whom  he 
afterward  named   Amaterasu,  or  "The  Heaven  Illumi- 
nating Spirit."     From  his  right  eye  appeared  Susa-no  O, 
the   "Ruler  of  the  Moon."     Being  now  pure  again,  and 
having  these  lovely  children,  Izanagi  rejoiced  and  said,  "I 
have  begotten  child  upon  child,  and  at  the  end  of  my  be- 
getting, I  have  begotten  me  two  jewel-children."     Now 
the  brightness  of  the  person  of  the  maiden  Amaterasu 
was    beautiful,  and   shone    through   Heaven  and  earth. 
Izanagi,    well  pleased,  said:    "Though  my  children  are 
many,  none  of  them  is  like  this  wonder-child.     She  must 
not  be  kept  in  this  region."     So  taking  off  the  necklace 
of  precious  stones  from  his  neck  and  rattling  it,  he  gave 
it  to  her,  saying,   "Rule   thou  over  the   High   Plain  of 
Heaven."     At  that  time  the  distance  between  Heaven 
and  earth  was  not  very  great,  and  he  sent  her  up  to  the 
blue   sky  by   the   Heaven-uniting   pillar,   on   which   the 
heavens  rested  as  on  a   prop.     She   easily  mounted  it, 
and  lived  in  the  sun,  illuminating  the  whole  heavens  and 
earth.     The  sun  now  gradually  separated  from  the  earth, 
and  both  moved  farther  and  farther  apart,  until  they  rested 
where  they  now  are.    Izanagi  next  spoke  to  Susa-no  O,  the 
Ruler  of  the  Moon,  and  said,  "Rule  thou  over  the  new-born 
earth  and  the  blue  waste  of  the  sea  with  its  multitudinous 
salt  waters."      Thus    the    heavens,   and  the   earth,   and 
moon  were  created  and  inhabited.     And  as   Japan  lay 
directly  opposite   the  sun  when  it  separated  from  the 
19 


212  ERUOK'S   CHAINS. 

earth,  it  is  plain  that  Japan  Hes  on  the  summit  of  the 
globe.  It  is  easily  seen  that  all  other  countries  were 
formed  by  the  spontaneous  consolidation  oi  the  ocean 
foam  and  the  collection  of  mud  in  the  various  seas.  The 
stars  were  made  to  guide  warriors  from  foreign  coun- 
tries to  the  court  of  the  Mikado,  who  is  the  one  and  only 
true  son  of  heaven,  before  whom  all  should  bow. 

THE    EMPERORS    DESCENDED    FROM    THE    GODS. 

Amaterasu,  on  account  of  her  bright  beauty,  was  by 
her  father  made  queen  of  the  sun,  and  shared  with  the 
two  creator-eods  the  orovernment  of  the  world.  In  send- 
ing  her  to  her  dominion,  Izanagi  gave  her  the  necklace 
of  precious  stones  from  his  neck,  and  told  her  to  go  up 
by  way  of  the  floating  bridge.  As  the  sun  was  then 
near,  she  ascended  without  difficulty.  Desiring  after- 
ward to  give  the  government  of  the  earth  to  her  grand- 
son, Ninigi-no-mikoto,  after  cf)nsiderable  difficulty  in  get- 
ting the  god  in  possession  to  make  way  for  him,  she  was 
able  to  carry  out  her  purpose  and  dispatch  him  to  his 
post.  She  proclaimed  him  sovereign  of  Japan  for  ever 
and  ever,  and  appointed  his  descendants  to  rule  it  as 
long  as  the  heavens  and  the  earth  endure.  Before  start- 
ing he  received  from  his  grandmother,  the  sun-goddess, 
the  Three  Divine  Insignia  of  the  Imperial  Power  of 
Japan,  namely,  the  Sacred  Mirror,  which  is  still  worshiped 
at  the  Naiku  Shrine  in  Ise  as  representative  of  the  god- 
dess ;  the  Sacred  Sword,  which  is  still  enshrined  at  the 
tiemple  of  Atsuta,  near  Nagoya,  at  the  head  of  the  bay  of 
Owari ;  and  the  Sacred  Stone,  or  "  Magatama,"  which  is 
always  in  possession  of  the  Emperor  of  Japan. 

Possessed  of  these  divine  symbols,  and  accompanied 
by  a  number  of  inferior  gods,  Ninigi-no-mikoto  descended 
upon  the  Floating  Bridge  of  Heaven,  or  the  "Ama  no- 


SHIN2  OISM,  THE  NATURE-WORSHIP  OF  JAPAN. 


313 


uki-hashi,"  Grains  of  rice  were  thrown  broadcast  in  the 
air  to  dispel  the  darkness  of  the  sky,  Ninigi-no-mikoto 
was  the  ood  who  was 

O 

sent  down  from  the 
Sun-goddess,  whose 
grandchild  he  was, 
to  take  possession 
of  the  land,  and  it 
was  his  offspring,  and 
the  offspring  of  his 
suite,  who  peopled 
Japan,  Ninigi-no- 
mikoto  lived  to  the 
age  of  3 1 0,000  years ; 
his  son  Hohodemi 
lived  to  the  still  riper 
age  of  637,892  years, 
and  a  grandchild  of 
his,  Ugaya,  died  at 
the  remarkable  age 
of  836,042  years. 
He  was  the  father  of 
Jimmu  Tenno,  first 
Emperor  of  Japan, 
who  is,  at  the  pres- 
ent time,  very  widely 
worshiped  as  a  god.       jimmu  tenno,  first  emperor  of  japan. 


THE    SUN-GODDESS    ENTICED    FROM   THE    CAVE. 

The  young  brother  of  the  Sun-goddess  so  seriously 
offended  his  brieht  and  beautiful  sister  that  she  went 
away  and  concealed  herself  in  the  cave  of  Ameno 
Tuaya,  closing  the  entrance  with  a  large  piece  of  rock. 


314 


ERUOH'S  CHAINS. 


From  this  time  the  entire  country  was  dark,  and  was  given 
up  to  the  noise  and  disturbance  of  all  sorts  of  inferior 
o-ods.  This  state  of  thino-s  was  so  distressinor  that  all  the 
gods  assembled  at  the  cave's  mouth,  on  the  bank  of  the 
Yasukawa  River,  and  deliberated  upon  the  means  to  be 
adopted  for  inducing  the  petulant  goddess  to  reappear^ 
for  be  it  understood  that  after  the  birth  of  the  Sun-god- 
dess no  light  could  be  obtained  except  from  her  bright- 
ness, as  she  had  been  appointed  to  illuminate  the  space 
between  earth  and  Heaven,  and  it  was  the  brightness  of 
her  body  that  shone  through  the  sun.  At  the  council  of 
the  gods  it  was  decided  to  entice  the  goddess  forth  by 
means  of  an  image  of  herself,  and  one  of  the  gods  and 
a  blacksmith  made  mirrors,  in  the  shape  of  the  sun,  with 
iron  brought  from  Heaven. 

Japanese  mirrors  are  always  made  of  fine  metal,  nof 
of  glass  coated  with  q.uicksilver.  Those  in  common  use 
are  generally  five  or  six  inches  in  diameter,  having  the 
surface  polished  with  great  care  and  some  figures  or 
flowers  stamped  upon  the  back.  The  mirror  is  a  Shinto 
symbol.  In  the  centre  of  the  Shinto  shrine  of  Ise,  in  the 
"  Holy  of  Holies"  of  that  temple  are  found  four  boxes 
of  unpainted  wood,  resting  on  low  stands.  These  are 
the  only  objects  to  be  found  here.  In  each  box,  wrapped 
in  a  brocade  bag,  is  a  mirror.  On  festival  days,  these 
boxes — but  not  the  mirrors — are  exposed  to  view. 

The  first  two  mirrors  produced  by  the  blacksmith,  as 
stated  above,  were  unsatisfactory,  but  the  third  was 
large  and  beautiful,  and  is  now  the  deity  of  the  inner 
shrine  of  Ise.  The  gods  also  planted  hemp  and  paper 
mulberry,  and  with  their  fibre  and  bark  wove  clothing  for 
the  goddess.  They  also  cut  down  trees  and  built  a 
palace.  Magatama  jewels  (carved  and  polished  pieces 
of  stone,  such  as  were  worn  in  those  days  as  ornaments). 


SHINTO  ISM,  THE  NATURE- WORSHIP  OF  JAPAN. 


315 


were  also  produced,  and  wands  were  made  from  sakaki 
branches  and  bamboo.  One  of  the  gods  then  pulled  up 
a  sakaki-tree  by  the  roots,  and  on  its  upper  branches 
hung  the  necklace  of  jewels;  at  the  middle  he  hung  the 
sacred  mirror,  and  to  the  lower  branches  he  attached  both 
coarse  and  fine  cloth.  This  formed  a  large  gohei,  which 
was  held  by  Ama-no  futo-dama-no-mikoto,  while  he  pro- 
nounced an  address  in  honor  of  the  goddess.  And 
goheis  like  this,  with  jewels,  mirrors  and  strips  of  cloth 
cut  zigzag,  we  still  see  in  the  hands  of  the  young  priest- 
esses at  the  shrine  of  the  goddess  herself,  and  the  simpler 
gohei  or  wands,  with  strips  of  cloth  or  paper  attached, 
are  now  to  be  seen,  as  they  have  for  ages  been,  all  over 
Japan,  at  every  Shinto  temple  or  shrine  and  in  thousands 
of  other  places. 

A  number  of  young  cocks  were  next  collected,  and 
set  to  crow  in  concert;  a  strong  god  was  concealed  by 
the  door  of  the  cavern,  to  wrest  it  open  at  the  favorable 
moment;  and  a  very  renowned  goddess,  Uzume,  was  set 
to  dance,  blowing  music  out  of  a  bamboo  tube  pierced 
with  holes,  while  the  gods  kept  time  to  her  performance 
by  striking  two  pieces  of  wood  together.  A  sort  of  harp 
was  made,  by  placing  six  bows  together,  with  the  strings 
upward.  This  was  played  by  the  drawing  of  grass  and 
rushes  across  it.  Uzume,  who  appears  to  have  entered 
upon  her  task  with  great  spirit,  bound  her  sleeves  close 
up  to  the  arm-pits,  and  grasped  in  her  hand  a  bundle  of 
twigs  and  a  spear  wound  round  with  grass  and  having 
small  bells  attached  to  it.  Bon-fires  were  liofhted  and  a 
circular  box  or  drum  was  placed  for  her  to  dance  upon. 
Then  this  young  goddess  commenced  to  tread  with 
measure  upon  the  hollow  box  and  cause  it  to  resound. 
She  sang  a  six-syllable  song  or  charm  of  numbei^,  and, 
gradually  quickening  her  dance  wrought  herself  up  to 


3i6 


^/^A'OA^'S   CHAINS, 


such  a  pitch  of  excitement,  or  rather  "such  a  spirit  de> 
scended  on  the  goddess,"  that  she  loosened  her  dress, 
reveahng  more  and  more  of  her  lovehness,  and  at  last, 
to  the  intense  amazement  and  delight  of  the  gods,  ap- 
pears to  have  discarded  her  dress  altogether.  With  the 
laughter  of  the  gods  the  heavens  shook.  The  address 
in  her  honor,  the  stirring  sounds  of  the  music  and  dan- 
cing, and  the  loud  and  joyous  laughter  of  the  gods  was 
too  much  for  Amaterasu,  and  slightly  opening  the  door, 
she  softly  said  from  inside,  "I  fancied  that  because  of 
my  retirement  both  Heaven  and  Japan  were  in  darkness! 
Why  has  Uzume  danced  and  why  do  the  gods  laugh?" 
Uzume  replied,  "I  dance  and  they  laugh,  because  there 
is  an  honorable  deity  here"  (pointing  to  the  mirror) 
"who  surpasses  you  in  glory;"  and  as  she  said  this,  the 
mirror  was  pushed  forward  and  shown  to  the  Sun-goddess, 
reflecting  her  own  radiant  loveliness,  of  course,  and  her  as- 
tonishment was  even  greater  than  before.  As  she  peeped 
out  of  the  cave  to  look  around,  the  strong  god  pulled 
the  rock-door  open  and  drew  the  bright  goddess  forth. 
Then  a  rice-straw  rope  was  passed  behind  her,  and  one 
of  the  gods  said,  "Go  not  back  behind  this."  As  they 
were  putting  the  mirror  into  the  cave  it  was  struck 
against  the  door,  and  received  a  flaw  which  remains  to 
this  day.  They  then  removed  the  goddess  to  her  new 
palace,  and,  as  an  expression  of  their  kindly  interest,  they 
put  a  straw  rope  round  it  to  keep  off  evil  gods. 

SHINTO    WORSHIP. 

Buddhism  was  introduced  into  Japan  in  532  A.  D.  Up 
to  this  time  Shintoism  had  continued  to  be  the  sole  reli- 
gion of  Japan,  during  some  twelve  hundred  years  at 
least.  •  It  is  called  by  the  Japanese  themselves,  Kami-no- 
michi,  or  "The  Way  of  the  Gods."     The  religion  con- 


SHINTOISM,  THE  NA  TURE-  WORSHIP  OF  JAPAN. 


317 


sists  essentially,  so  they  say,  in  an  implicit  obedience  to  the 
Mikado.  He  is  the  descendant  of  the  gods,  and  his 
common  designation  is  Ten-Shi,  or  "  Son  of  Heaven." 
The  Mikado  has  two  crests,  one,  representing  the  chrys- 
anthemum, is  used  for  government  purposes.  The 
other,  representing  the  leaf  and  blossoms  of  the  Paulow- 


THE  MIKADO'S  COAT-OF-ARMS. 


nia  Imperialis  {Kiri  in  Japanese),  is  used  in  the  business 
personal  to  the  Mikado  and  his  family. 

There  were  no  creeds,  nor  elaborate  systems  of  doc- 
trines in  their  religion.  The  good  gods  were  to  be  wor- 
shiped so  that  there  might  be  an  increase  of  good  gifts; 
and  the  evil  gods,  so  that  they  might  be  appeased.     The 


^ig  EJiROR'S   CHAINS. 

people  prayed  for  a  sufficiency  of  food,  clothing  and  shelter, 
and  twice  each  year  held  festivals  of  General  Purification, 
when  the  whole  nation  was  purified  of  its  sins  and  pollu- 
tions. The  following  prayer  was  to  be  used  by  the 
Mikado:    "O    God,  that  dwellest    in   the   high  plain    of 


P.AIDEN,  GOD  OF  THUNDER,  WITH  HIS  STRING  OF  DRUMS. 

Heaven,  who  art  divine  in  substance  and  in  intellect,  and 
able  to  give   protection  from  guilt  and  its   penalties,  to 
banish  impurity,  and  to  cleanse  us  from   uncleanness — 
Hosts  of  Gods  hear  us  and  listen  to  these  petitions!" 
The  emperor  was  the  god  dwelling  in  the  flesh,  and 


SHINTO  ISM,  THE  NATURE-WORSHIP  OF  JAPAN. 


319 


his  ancestors  were,  of  course,  to  be  worshiped.  The  first 
emperor,  Jimmu  Tenno,  receives  especial  worship  and 
honor.  Besides  these  gods — the  deified  emperors  and 
heroes — there  were  hosts  of  gods  who  were  the  deified 
powers  of  nature.     We  have  already  spoken  of  the  sun- 


FUTEN,  GOD  OF  WINDS,  WITH  HIS  HUGE  SACK. 

goddess  and  moon-goddess.  Besides  these  there  were 
gods  of  storms,  winds,  rain,  thunder,  fertility,  of  moun- 
tains, fields,  seas  and  rivers.  Raiden,  the  god  of  thunder, 
is  supposed  to  have  a  string  of  drums,  which  he  beats 
when  it  thunders.     The  Japanese  say  that  when  he  is 


^2o  ERUOR'S  CHAINS. 

angry,  he  throws  from  the  clouds  a  terrible  creature  like 
a  cat,  with  iron  claws  and  a  hairy  body.  Futen,  the  god 
of  winds,  carries  a  huge  sack  slung  over  his  shoulders, 
the  mouth  of  which  is  closed  by  his  hand.  It  blows  a 
typhoon,  a  gale,  or  a  breeze,  as  he  clinches  his  fingers 
little  or  much.  Besides  these  gods  are  a  number  of  gods 
of  occupations,  of  the  household,  of  the  work-shop,  the 
field  and  the  store. 

The  sun  is  one  of  the  most  common  objects  of  wor- 
ship among  the  Shintoists.  The  country  of  Japan  is  often 
called  "The  Land  of  the  Rising  Sun."  Their  national 
flae  is  of  white  with  a  larcje  red  sun  in  the  centre.  On 
the  top  of  Fujiyama,  the  famous  sacred  mountain,  and  on 
the  sea-shore,  pilgrims  and  priests  often  gather  to  offer 
their  worship  to  the  rising  sun. 


FOPULAR  GODS  AND  SHRINES  OF  SHINTO  ISM.  ^21 


CHAPTER  XV. 

POPULAR    GODS    AND    SHRINES    OF    SHINTOISM. 

The  characteristics  of  "  Pure  Shinto"  are  an  absence  of  an  ethical 
and  doctrinal  code,  of  idol-worship,  of  priestcraft,  and  of  any  teach- 
ings concerning  a  future  state,  and  the  deification  of  heroes,  em- 
perors and  great  men,  together  with  the  worship  of  certain  forces  and 
objects  in  nature.  It  is  said  that  the  Kami,  or  gods,  number  14,000, 
of  whom  3,700  are  known  to  have  shrines;  but,  practically,  the  num- 
ber is  infinite.  Each  hamlet  has  its  special  god,  as  well  as  its  Mirja, 
or  shrine ;  and  each  child  is  taken  to  the  shrine  of  the  district  in 
which  it  is  born,  a  month  after  birth,  and  the  god  of  that  shrine  be- 
comes his  patron.  Each  god  has  its  annual  festival,  while  many  have 
particular  days  in  each  month  on  which  people  visit  their  shrines.— 
Miss  Isabella  Bird. 

THE    SEVEN    HOUSEHOLD    GODS. 

MR.  GRIFFIS  says  :  Every  Japanese  child  knows 
the  ShichifiUziL  Jin,  or  the  seven  Patrons  of 
Happiness.  They  have  charge  of  long  life, 
riches,  daily  food,  contentment,  talents,  glory  and  love. 
Their  images,  carved  in  ivory,  wood,  stone,  or  cast  in 
bronze,  are  found  in  every  house,  sold  in  the  stores^ 
painted  on  shop-signs,  and  found  in  picture-books.  They 
are  a  jolly  company,  and  make  a  happy  family.  On  New 
Year's  Eve,  a  picture  of  the  Treasure-ship  (Yakarebune), 
laden  with  Shippi  (the  seven  jewels)  and  with  all  the 
good  things  of  life  which  men  most  desire,  is  hung  up  in 
houses.  The  ship  is  coming  into  port,  and  the  passen- 
gers are  the  seven  happy  fairies  who  will  make  gifts  to 


22 


EREOH'S   CHAINS. 


the  people.     These  seven  jewels  are  the  same  as  those 
which  Momotaro  brought  back  from  the  Onis  island. 

First  there  is  Fukoruku  Jin,  the  patron  of  long  life  or 
length  of  days.  He  has  an  enormously  high  forehead, 
rounded  at  the  top,  which  makes  his  head  lo6k  like  a 
sugar  loaf.  It  is  bald  and  shiny.  A  few  ^tray  white 
hairs  sometimes  sprout  up,  and  the  barber,  to  reach  them, 
has  to  prop  a  ladder  against  his  head  to  climb  up  and 
apply  his  razor.  This  big  head  comes  from  thinking  so 
much.     His  eyebrows  are  white  like  cotton,  and  a  long, 

snowy  beard  falls 
down  over  his 
breast.  When  in 
a  specially  good 
humor,  he  ties  a 
handkerchief  over 
his  high,  slippery 
crown,  and  allows 
littleboys  to  climb 
up  on  top  —  that 
is,if  they  are  good 
boys,  and  can 
write  well.  When 
he  wants  to  show 
how  strong-  and 
lively  he  is,  even 
though  so  old,  he 
lets  Daikoku,  the 
fat  fellow,  ride  on 
top  of  his  head 
•while  he  smokes  his  pipe  and  wades  across  a  river.  Dai- 
koku has  to  hold  on  tightly,  or  he  will  slip  down  and  get 
a  ducking.  Usually,  the  old  shiny-head  is  a  very  solemn 
gentleman,  and  walks  slowly  along  with  his  staff  in  one 


DAIKOKU,  THE  RICE-GOD,  ON  HIS  THRONE  OF 
RICE-BAGS. 


//-; 

,'  / /  /  ' 

/  /'  if 

FUKORUKU  JIN,  THE  GOD  WHO  CAN  BESTOW  LONG  LIFE. 

From  a  Japanese  Picture  showing  their  conception  of  the  way  in  which  the  gods  can  supervise  affairs  in 

various  places. 


POPULAR  GODS  AND  SHRINES  OF  SHINTOISiM.  -,  2  S 

hand,  while  with  the  other  he  strokes  his  long  eyebrows. 
The  tortoise  and  the  crane  are  always  with  him,  for  these 
are  his  pets.  Sometimes  a  stag,  with  hair  white  with  age, 
walks  behind  him.  Everybody  likes  Fukoruku  Jin,  be- 
cause every  one  wants  to  get  his  favor  and  live  until,  like 
a  lobster,  his  back  is  bent  with  age.  At  a  wedding,  you 
will  always  see  a  picture  of  white-bearded  and  shiny- 
patecl  Fukoruku  Jin. 

Daikoku  is  a  short  chubby  fellow,  with  eyes  half  sunk 
in  fat,  but  twinkling  with  fun.  He  has  a  flat  cap  set  on 
his  head,  a  loose  sack  over  his  shoulders,  and  big  boots 
on  his  feet.  His  throne  is  two  straw  bags  of  rice,  and 
his  badge  of  office  is  a  mallet  or  hammer,  which  makes 
people  rich  when  he  shakes  it.  The  hammer  is  the 
symbol  of  labor,  showing  that  people  may  expect  to  get 
rich  only  by  hard  work.  One  end  of  it  is  carved  to  rep- 
resent the  jewel  of  the  ebbing  and  the  flowing  tides,  be- 
cause merchants  get  rich  by  commerce  on  the  sea,  and 
must  watch  the  tides.  He  is  often  seen  holdino-  the 
counting-board,  on  which  you  can  reckon,  do  sums,  sub- 
tract, multiply  or  divide,  by  sliding  balls  up  and  down  a 
row  of  sticks  set  in  a  frame,  instead  of  writing  the  fieures. 
Beside  him  is  a  ledger  and  day-book.  His  favorite  ani- 
mal is  the  rat,  which,  like  some  rich  men's  pets,  eats  or 
runs  away  with  his  wealth. 

The  crreat  silver-white  radish  called  daikon,  two  feet 
long  and  as  big  as  a  man's  calf,  is  always  seen  near  him, 
because  it  signifies  flourishing  prosperity.  He  keeps 
his  bag  tightly  shut,  for  money  easily  runs  away  when 
the  purse  is  once  opened.  He  never  lets  go  his  hammer, 
for  it  is  only  by  constant  care  that  any  one  can  keep 
money  after  he  gets  it.  Even  when  he  frolics  with 
Fukoruku  Jin,  and  rides  on  his  head,  he  keeps  his  ham- 
mer swinging  at  his  belt.     He  has  huge  lop  ears.     Once 


326 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


In  a  while,  when  he  wishes  to  talce  exercise,  and  Fuko- 
ruku  Jin  wants  to  show  how  frisky  he  can  be,  even  if  he 
is  old,  they  have  a  wrestling-match  together.  Daikoku 
nearly  always  beats,  because  Fukoruku  Jin  is  so  tall  that 
he  has  to  bend  down  to  grip  Daikoku,  who  is  fat  and 
short,  and  thus  he  becomes  top-heavy.  Then  Daikoku 
gets  his  rival's  long  head  under  his  left  arm,  seizes  him 
over  his  back  by  the  belt,  and  throws  him  over  his 
shoulder  fiat  on  the  ground.  But  if  Fukoruku  Jin  can 
only  get  hold  of  Daikoku's  lop  ears,  both  fall  together. 
Then  they  laugh  heartily  and  try  it  again. 


DOMESTIC  ALTAR  OF  THE  GODS  OF  DAILY  FOOD  AND  OF  RICE. 

Ebisu  is  the  patron  of  daily  food,  which  is  usually  rice 
and  fish,  and  in  old  times  was  chiefly  the  latter.  He  is 
nearly  as  fat  as  Daikoku.  He  wears  a  court  noble's 
high  cap.     He   is  always  fishing  or  enjoying   his  game. 


POPULAR  GODS  AND  SHRINES  OF  SIIiNTOISM. 


327 


When  very  happy,  he  sits  on  a  rock  by  the  sea,  with  his 
right  leg  bent  under  him,  and  a  big  red  fish,  called  the 
tai,  a  fish  like  a  perch,  under  his  left  arm.  He  carries  a 
straw  wallet  on  his  back  to  hold  his  fish  and  keep  it 
fresh.  Often  he  is  seen  standing  knee  deep  in  the  water, 
pole  in  hand,  watching  for  a  nibble.  Some  say  that 
Ebisu  is  the  same  scamp  that  goes  by  the  other  name 
of  Sosanoo. 

Hotel  is  the  patron  of  contentment,  and,  of  course,  is 
the  father  of  happiness.  He  does  not  wear  much  cloth- 
ing, for  the  truth  is  that  all  his  property  consists  of  an 
old,  ragged  wrapper, 
a  fan  and  a  wallet. 
He  is  as  round  as  a 
pudding,  and  as  fat 
as  if  rolled  out  of 
dough.  His  body  is 
like  a  lump  of  rice 
pastry,  and  his  limbs 
like  da7igo  dump- 
lings. He  has  lop 
ears  that  hang  down 
over  his  shoulders,  a 
tremendous  double 
chin,  and  a  round 
belly.  Though  he 
will  not  let  his  beard 
crrow  loner,  the  slov-  ™'^^'=^'  ^^^  ^^"°  <'f"  happiness. 

enly  old  fellow  never  has  it  shaven  when  he  ought  to. 
He  is  a  jolly  vagabond  and  never  fit  for  company ;  but 
he  is  a  great  friend  of  the  children,  who  romp  over  his 
knees  and  shoulders,  pull  his  ears  and  climb  up  over  his 
shaven  head.  He  always  keeps  something  good  for 
them  in   his  wallet.     Sometimes  he  opens  It  wide  and 


228  ERUOK'S   CHAINS. 

then  makes  them  guess  what  is  inside.  They  try  to  peep 
in,  but  they  are  not  tall  enough  to  look  over  the  edge. 
He  makes  tops,  paints  pictures  or  kites  for  the  boys,  and 
is  the  children's  greatest  friend.  When  the  seven  patrons 
meet  together,  Hotei  is  apt  to  drink  more  wine  than  is 
o-ood  for  him.  Toshi-toku  is  almost  the  only  one  of  the 
seven  who  never  lays  aside  his  dignity.  He  has  a  very 
grave  countenance.  He  is  the  patron  of  talents.  His 
pet  animal  is  a  spotted  fawn.  He  travels  about  a  good 
deal  to  find  and  reward  good  boys  who  are  diligent  in 
their  studies,  and  men  who  are  fitted  to  rule.  In  one  hand 
he  carries  a  crooked  staff  of  bamboo,  at  the  top  of  which  is 
hung  a  book  or  roll  of  manuscript.  His  dress  is  like 
that  of  a  learned  doctor,  with  square  cap,  stole  and  high- 
toed  slippers. 

Bishamon  is  the  patron  of  glory  and  fame.  He  is  a 
mighty  soldier.  He  wears  a  golden  helmet,  breast-plate 
and  complete  armor.  He  is  the  protector  of  priests  and 
warriors.  He  gives  them  skill  in  fencing,  horsemanship 
and  archery.  He  holds  a  pagoda  in  one  hand  and  a 
dragon  sword  in  the  other.     His  pet  animal  is  the  tiger. 

Six  out  of  the  jolly  worthies  are  men.  Benten  is  the 
only  lady.  She  is  the  patron  of  the  family  and  of  the  sea. 
She  plays  the  flute  and  the  guitar  for  the  others,  and 
amuses  them  at  their  feasts,  sometimes  even  dancing 
for  them.  Her  real  home  is  in  Rin  Gu,  and  she  is  the 
queen  of  the  world  under  the  sea.  She  often  dwells  in 
the  caves  of  the  sea  or  ocean.  Her  favorite  animal  is 
the  snake  and  her  servants  are  the  dragons. 

Once  a  year  the  jolly  seven  meet  together  to  talk  over 
old  times,  relate  their  adventures,  and  have  a  luxuriant 
supper.  Then  they  proceed  to  business,  which  is  to 
arrange  all  the  marriages  for  the  coming  year.  They 
b.ave  a  great  many  skeins  of  red  and  white  silk,  which 


POPULAR   GODS  AND  SHRINES  OF  SHINTOISM.  ^2Q 

are  the  threads  of  fate  of  those  to  be  married.  The  white 
threads  are  the  men,  the  red  are  the  women.  At  first 
they  select  the  threads  very  carefully,  and  tie  a  great 
many  pairs  or  couples  neatly  and  strongly  together,  so 
that  the  matches  are  perfect.  All  such  marriages  of 
threads  make  happy  marriages  among  human  beings. 
But  by  and  by  they  get  tired  and  lazy,  and  instead  of 
tying  the  knots  carefully,  they  hurry  up  the  work  and 
then  jumble  them  carelessly,  and  finally  toss  and  tangle 
up  all  the  rest.  This  is  the  reason  why  so  many  mar- 
riages are  unhappy.  This  work  done  they  begin  to  frolic 
like  big  boys.  Benten  plays  the  guitar,  and  Bishamon 
lies  down  on  the  floor  resting  upon  his  elbows  to  hear  it. 
Hotei  drinks  wine  out  of  a  shallow  red  cup  which  is  as  wide 
as  a  dinner  plate.  Daikoku  and  Fukoruku  Jin  begin  to 
wrestle,  and  when  Daikoku  gets  his  man  down  he  pounds 
his  big  head  with  an  empty  gourd,  while  Toshi  toku  and 
Ebisu  begin  to  eat  tai  fish.  When  this  fun  is  over,  Ben- 
ten  and  Fukoruku  Jin  play  a  game  of  checkers,  while  the 
others  look  on  and  bet ;  except  Hotei,  the  fat  fellow,  who 
is  asleep.  Finally  they  get  ashamed  of  themselves  for 
gambling,  and  after  a  few  days,  the  party  breaks  up  and 
each  one  o-oes  to  his  reo^ular  business  ao-ain. 

THE    SACRED    MOUNTAIN. 

Almost  the  first  object  which  meets  the  gaze  of  the 
traveler  after  crossing  the  Pacific  Ocean  and  as  he  nears 
the  land,  is  the  matchless  mountain,  Fuji-yama.  Its  snow- 
covered  heights  rise  some  13,000  feet  above  the  sea.  To 
the  people  of  Japan  this  is  the  sacred  mountain.  It  is 
depicted  on  all  their  lacquer-ware,  their  china-ware  and 
their  drawings.  It  is  described  in  all  their  poems  and 
sacred  books.  It  has  a  strong  hold  on  the  people.  It  is 
a  sleeping  volcano.     Nearly  2,000  feet  of  its  sides  are 


330 


ERU  OA'-S   CHA INS. 


cultivated.  Then  comes  a  wide  belt  of  forest.  The 
ascent  of  the  mountain  is  a  sacred  pilgrimage,  and  there 
are  accordingly  a  number  of  roads  to  the  top,  with  nine 
huts  on  each  road.  The  pilgrims  are  dressed  in  white 
robes,  and  pray  to  the  rising  sun  while  climbing  the 
mountain  sides.  Sometimes  one  may  see  several  hun- 
dreds of  Shinto  pilgrims  in  their  white  robes  turning  out 


THE  SACRED  MOUNTAIN,  FUJI-YAMA. 

from  their  shelters,  and  joining  their  chants  to  the  rising 
sun.  The  view  of  the  long  sweeping  sides  of  this  moun- 
tain, rising  from  an  almost  level  plain  and  climbing  away 
to  the  clouds,  through  which  it  thrusts  its  snow-crowned 
top,  is  one  of  the  grandest  in  the  world. 


rOPL'LAR  GODS  AXD  SHRINES  OF  SIIINTOISM. 


ZZ"^ 


SHINTO    TEMPLES    AND    GATE-WAYS. 

The  temples  are   usually  of  very  simple   style,  being 
constructed    of   wood  and   thatched.     They  contain    no 


idols 
and 


;  but  in  the  courtyards  or  approaches  figures  of  real 
imaginary  animals  are  not  at  all  uncommon,  espe- 


332 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


cially  in  the  case  of  large  temples.  The  approach  is 
spanned  by  one  or  more  torii.  The  torii,  it  is  now  gen- 
erally admitted,  was  originally  a  perch  for  the  fowls  of- 
fered to  the  gods,  not  as  food,  but  to  give  warning  of 
day-break.  Its  present  use  is  not  for  this  purpose,  but  is 
simply  as  a  decoration.  At  the  outer  shrine  of  Ise, 
which  is  called  the  e^kil,  there  is  an  immense  number 
of  votive  iorii  standing  close  to  each  other  in  lonof  rows. 

But  the  more  common  form  of 
votive  offering  is  a  large  lantern, 
several  feet  in  height,  and  formed 
either  of   wrouMit    stone    or  of 
bronze.    These  are  sometimes  of 
very   large    size,    even    ten    or 
twelve  feet  high,  and  are    often 
crowded    thickly    near    the    ap- 
proaches   alike    of    Shinto    and 
Buddhist    temples.       The    wor- 
shiper does  not  enter  the  temple 
■^^   to   worship    at  a  Shinto  shrine. 
He  stands  in  front  of  it,  striking^ 
his    hands    together,  and   offers, 
bowed,    and    usually  in    silence, 
the    short    and    simple     prayer 

A  TENTO,  OR  "HEAVENLY  i   •    i     i   •  •    •  i- 

LANTERN."  which  his  own  necessities  dictate.. 


THE    SACRED    SHRINES    OF    ISE. 

First  for  sacredness  among  the  Japanese  Shinto  temples- 
are  the  Shrines  of  Ise.  These  are  to  Japan  what  Mecca 
is  to  Mohammedan  lands  and  what  Jerusalem  was  to  the 
Holy  Land.  Thousands  of  pilgrims  visit  these  shrines 
every  year.     Sir  E.  J.  Reed,  thus  describes  his  visit: 

"  At  the  entrance  we  were  met  by  two  Shinto  priests, 
who  had  been  deputed  to   show  us   the   sacred  place. 


POPULAR  GODS  AND  SHRINES  OF  SHINTOISM. 


zzz 


Passing  under  the  torii,  we  were  at  once  amid  trees  of 
an  age  and  magnitude  not  often  equaled.  Within  the 
temple-limits  we  came  first  to  a  small  edifice,  in  which 
was  the  white  horse  of  the  deity  of  the  place,  which  hap- 


SHRINES  OF  ISE,  THE  MOST  SACKED  PLACE  OE  bHlNTOIS.M. 

pened  to  be  an  artificial  horse,  the  real  one  having  re- 
cently died,  and  another  not  being  forthcoming  at  present, 
for  reasons  which  I  did  not  learn.  Soon  afterward  we 
came  to  two  living  black  horses,  consecrated  to  the  ser- 
vice of  the  temple,  and  more  particularly  for  the  god  of 
the  place — 'the  god  of  food,  clothes  and  house  living,' 
according  to  one  authority;  or,  'the  god  of  the  earth's 
produce,'  as  another  has  it,  to  ride  upon  in  the  proces- 
sions of  the  great  temple  ceremonials, 

"There  are  secondary  deities  worshiped  there,  the 
chief  of  whom  is  the  adopted  grandson  of  the  sun-god- 
dess and  the  great-grandfather  of  the  first  Mikado,  Jimmu 
Tenno,  who  commenced  his  reign  in  the  Japanese  year  i. 
According  to  the  legend,  the  goddess  wished  to  send  her 
adopted  son,  Oshi-ho-mimi-no-mikoto,  down  upon  earth 
to  subdue  it,  but  he  put  forth  his  own  son  instead  as 
leader  of  the  expedition.     The  goddess  then  presented 


Ninigi-no-mikoto  with  various  treasures,  the  most  im- 
portant among-  which — and  here  we  touch  upon  the  cen- 
tral sacredness  ahke  of  the  race  of  Mikados  and  of  the 
symbols  of  the  Shinto  faith — were  the  mirror,  sword  and 
stone,  or  ball  (afterwards  the  regalia  of  the  Japanese 
sovereigns).  She  also  attached  to  his  person  the  other 
two  inferior  gods  of  Geku.  With  reference  to  the  mir- 
ror, she  said,  '  Look  upon  this  mirror  as  my  spirit ;  keep 
it  in  the  same  house  and  on  the  same  floor  with  yourself, 
and  worship  it  as  if  you  were  worshiping  my  actual 
presence.' 

"  Passing  under  another  torii  of  plain,  unpainted  tim- 
ber, like  all  the  torii  of  the  Ise  shrines,  we  came  to  the 
outer  gate  of  the  temple  proper,  to  which  alone  of  three 
successive  gates  we  and  the  other  pilgrims  were  allowed 
to  approach.  With  certain  extremely  rare  exceptions, 
extending  only  to  the  M.kado  and  commissioners  of  his, 
none  but  priests  are  allowed  to  pass  this  first  gate.  It 
was  an  open  gate,  however,  with  a  simple  white  curtain 
or  cloth  thrown  across  it,  blowing  about  as  the  wind 
listed.  Through  this  open  gate,  or  past  the  sides  of  it, 
if  you  preferred  to  stand  there,  you  could  see  the  next 
gate,  and  beyond  that  again  was  a  third,  and  then  came 
the  temple  proper,  which  could  not  be  seen.  This  was 
all !  The  buildings,  as  far  as  seen,  were  all  of  the  plain- 
est possible  kind,  not  unlike  substantial,  well-thatched 
farm-buildings  at  home.  The  mirror  at  this  outer  temple 
was  not  the  original  mirror,  and  the  priest  did  not  for  a 
moment  lead  us  to  suppose  that  it  was.  There  was,  in  fact, 
no  pretence  of  any  kind  about  the  place.  The  ancient 
buildings  and  the  plain  white  curtain  were  left  to  produce 
that  which  is  perhaps  the  deepest  and  most  lasting  of  all 
impressions  made  by  religious  externals,  namely,  that  of 
■combined  simplicity  and  antiquity.     Of  this  outer  temple 


POPULAR  GODS  AiVD  SjF/RLVES  OF  SHINTOISM. 


oo:i 


I  need  only  add,  that  it  is  in  every  respect  a  sequel  and 
appendage  to  the  inner  and  more  ancient  temple,  having 
been  built  by  the  desire  of  the  goddess  of  the  older  Ise 
temple,  who  wished  to  have  the  deity  Toyouke  near  her. 
This,  the  outer  and  later  temple,  dates  from  the  reign  of 
the  twenty-second  Mikado  of  the  present  reigning  dy- 
nasty, Yuriaku,  in  the  year  479  A.  D. 


INTERIOR  OF  A  SHINTO  TEMPLE,  SHOWING  THE  ARRANGEMENTS 
FOR  WORSHIP. 

"Soon  afterwards  we  started  for  the  inner  temple,  Naiku, 
Here  is  kept  the  original  sacred  mirror,  which  is  the  most 
precious  emblem  of  the  Shinto  faith,  and  which,  with  the 
sacred  sword  and  ball,  is  also  the  authenticatinsf  memorial 


33^ 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


of  the  imperial  dynasty.  So  all  Japan  has  regarded 
it  for  2,500  years,  even  down  to  1868,  and  so  most 
of  the  people  regard  it  still.  This  temple  came  to  be 
built  in  the  following  manner :  The  sacred  emblems  of 
the  national  religion  had,  up  to  the  time  of  the  great 
Mikado  Sujin,  been  kept  in  the  imperial  palace  or  temple ; 
but  he,  as  some  say  to  increase  their  safety,  and  as  others 
alleofe  because  he  viewed  a  rebellion  which  broke  out  as 
a  mark  of  divine  disapprobation  of  their  remaining  in  his 
custody,  gave  them  into  the  charge  of  his  daughter,  in  a 
temple  dedicated  to  them.  They  were  subsequently  re- 
moved and  carried  from  place  to  place,  but  at  length,  in 
the  twenty-sixth  year  of  the  reign  of  Suinin  Tenno,  and 
therefore  in  the  year  3  B.  C,  it  was  resolved  to  fix  the 
mirror  at  the  village  of  Uji  on  the  River  Suzugawa,  and 
there  and  then  the  present  temple  was  built.  The  old 
building  does  not  exist.  On  the  contrary,  a  new  temple 
is  erected  every  twenty  years,  but  each  new  temple  is  an 
exact  repetition  of  the  original,  and  therefore  the  present 
one  is  a  perfect  representation  of  the  architecture  of 
Japan  at  the  time  of  Christ.  The  principal  deity  here 
worshiped  is  Amaterasu,  the  sun-goddess  herself 

"The  gate-way  was  open,  and  hung,  like  that  of  the 
other  temple,  with  a  long  white  curtain,  and  beyond 
were  seen  another  /^rzVand  other  gate-ways,  but  nothing^ 
could  be  seen  of  the  temple  itself,  and  as  little,  of  course^, 
of  the  heaven-wrought  mirror  within.  As  we  stood, 
however,  the  pilgrims  continued  to  come,  of  both  sexes 
and  all  ages,  and  casting  upon  the  ground  a  few  coins, 
some  wrapped  in  paper,  stooping,  clapping  their  hands, 
and  uttering  a  few  words  of  prayer,  thus  attained  and 
completed  the  object  for  which  their  journeyings  had 
been  undertaken.  I  asked  if  this  was  all  they  saw  and 
did,  and  was  told  that  it  was.     I  inquired  if  they  attended 


POPULAR  GODS  AND  SHRINES  OF  SHINTO JSM.         ^^^ 

no  religious  service,  saw  no  dances,  heard  no  music,  re- 
ceived no  advice  ;  and  found  that  as  a  rule'  they  did  not. 
Was  no  blessing  pronounced,  no  simple  memorial  of 
some  kind  presented  to  them  ?  Nothing ;  but  they  all 
bought  little  mementos  of  the  place  at  the  stall  in  the 
grounds  or  at  the  shops  in  the  village.  What  was  it 
they  said  during  the  minute  or  two  that  they  stooped 
before  the  shrine  ?  They  no  doubt  asked  for  whatever 
they  wanted  in  particular,  and  generally  for  long  life, 
and  the  means  of  life  and  happiness  in  the  years  to 
come. 

"  Our  companions,  the  priests,  suggested  that  we  ought 
to  see  one  of  the  ceremonial  dances  of  the  temple,  and  to 
this  we  gladly  assented  on  learning  that  it  would  not  be 
a  repetition  of  what  we  had  seen  at  Osaka  and  Nara,  but 
that  it  was  one  of  the  most  ancient  description,  handed 
•down  from  generation  to  generation  at  these  Ise  shrines. 
The  room  had  an  altar  at  the  end  opposite  the  entrance, 
over  which  was  a  large  mirror.  Round  the  altar  and 
walks  were  an  abundance  of  goheis,  and  of  bands  and 
tassels.  At  the  altar-end  of  the  room  a  priest  sat  on  one 
side,  and  along  each  of  the  side  walls  were  the  musicians 
and  dancers,  all  sitting  on  their  heels.  The  musicians, 
who  were  also  singers,  were  all  men  ;  the  dancers  were 
quite  young  girls  attired  in  white  and  red,  with  frontlets 
of  brass,  from  each  end  of  which  depended  a  cord  and 
tassel.  On  the  tops  of  their  heads  were  large  bunches 
of  flowers ;  their  back  hair  was  in  a  queue,  with  tassels 
attached,  surmounted  with  gilt  bows  and  ribbons.  There 
were  two  equally  young  girls  in  red  and  blue  with  plainer 
head-dresses,  who  in  a  certain  way  attended  on  the 
others.  The  dance  began  by  a  subordinate  priest  com- 
ing in  by  a  side  entrance  with  a  wet  branch  of  the  sacred 
sakaki  tree  in  his  hand.     After  bowinof  to  the  shrine,  he 


33^ 


ERKOA'  S    CJ/AJXS. 


turned   to   the  VLsitors,  and  waved   it  a   few  times  swiftly 
before  th'  m,  and  then  disappeared.     Returning  again  lo 


POPULAR  GODS  AND  SHRINES  OF  SHINTO  ISM.  ^-^^ 

the  same  entrance,  he  handed  In  to  the  two  blue-and-red 
attendants,  trays  of  herbs,  rice  and  fruits  in  succession. 
These  were  borne  ceremoniously  elevated  to  the  six 
priestesses,  who  conveyed  them  in  a  similar  manner  tO' 
the  altar,  placing  the  contents  of  the  first  two  trays  upon 
an  inner  altar,  and  those  of  the  remaining  four  upon  an 
outer  altar,  then  returning  the  trays  to  their  two  attend- 
ants, who  passed  them  out  of  the  building. 

"While  this  was  proceeding,  the  band  sent  forth  what 
sounded  to  me  as  wailing,  imploring,  importunate  sounds, 
with  an  occasional  rap  upon  the  drum  for  emphasis. 
The  priest,  who  wore  the  ancient  head-dress  like  that  of 
the  Mikado,  now  rose,  and  after  a  few  obeisances  before 
the  mirror  sat  down  upon  his  heels,  facing  the  altar,  and 
intoned  a  prayer,  or  novito,  from  a  large  sheet  of  paper 
held  outspread  before  him,  the  musicians,  and  dancers, 
and  attendants  all  sitting  with  bowed  heads  to  its  end. 
Small  branches  of  sakaki  were  now  brought  to  the  priest- 
esses, and  the  dance  took  place  to  an  accompaniment  of 
livelier  music.  The  dance  comprised  no  very  active 
movements,  but  consisted  mainly  of  short,  slow  and  grave- 
promenading,  with  occasional  stately  bowings  and  much 
slow  waving  of  the  branches.  This  over,  a  boy  entered,, 
dressed  in  the  military  undress  robes  of  a  kuge  (court 
noble)  of  the  olden  time,  and  holding  in  his  hands  a 
branch  of  sakaki,  with  a  pendant  hoop,  doubtless  in  lieu 
of  a  mirror.  He  danced,  as  it  is  called,  to  much  louder 
music,  but  the  dancing  was  little  more  than  further  prom- 
enading and  making  certain  sweeping  movements  with 
the  branch  of  sakaki,  with  an  occasional  high  step.  Of 
course,  it  is  a  great  pity  for  the  significance  of  all  this  to 
be  lost;  but  nothing  explanatory  could  be  elicited  from 
any  of  the  Japanese  present,  and  from  the  answers  of  the 
priests  I  infer  that  if  the  various   movements  of  these 


340 


ilrror's  chains. 


dances  ever  had  any  great  and  special  significance,  die 
remembrance  of  it  is  pretty  nearly  or  quite  lost.  The 
priest  next  came  forward  again,  and,  after  elevating  the 
written  prayer  a  few  times  before  the  shrine,  left  the 
building  by  the  side  door.  The  process  of  placing  the 
fruits  and  other  offerings  upon  the  altar  was  now  re- 
versed, and  everything  was  removed  from  the  altars  and 
taken  away,  the  music  meanwhile  playing  loud  and  joy- 
ous strains.  With  this  ended  the  most  ancient  of  the 
dances  in  the  most  sacred  national  shrine  of  Japan." 

Very  great  changes  have  occurred  in  Japan  since  the 
year  1868,  when  the  Mikado  became  the  temporal  as 
well  as  the  spiritual  head  of  the  Empire.  The  interests 
of  Shintoism  have  suffered  in  the  change.  Prof.  Max 
Mliller  estimates  that  there  are  now  only  200,000  Shin- 
-oists  in  all  Japan. 


THE   DARK  CONTINENT.  ^^i 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE     DARK     CONTINENT. 

Yes,  the  great  Buffalo*  sleeps;  his  mightiest  victory  was  his  last. 
His  warriors  howl  in  vain,  his  necromancers  gaze  aghast. 
Fetich,  nor  magic  wand,  nor  amulet  of  darnel. 
Can  charm  back  life  to  the  clay-cold  heart  and  limb. 

Ferdinand  Freiligrath. 

IT  Is  only  of  late  years  that  much  has  been  known  of 
the  people  of  the  heart  of  Africa.  Explorers  have 
passed  through  its  borders ;  along  its  coasts  travelers 
have  wandered,  but  few  have,  until  recently,  pushed  on 
into  the  interior.  Even  to-day  there  are  vast  regions 
unexplored.  Of  the  millions  of  peoples  inhabiting  these 
parts  we  know  only  that  which  the  Arab  slave- dealers, 
and  some  native  African  traders  have  told  us.  The  ex« 
treme  points.  North,  South,  East  and  West  Africa  have 
been  known  for  many  years.  The  interior,  stretching 
back  from  Upper  Egypt,  and  extending  clear  across  to 
the  River  Niger,  has  been  but  little  traveled  by  foreigners. 
From  Zanzibar  on  the  south-east,  radiating  like  a  fan, 
explorers  have  passed  to  the  great  lakes  to  the  north- 
west, the  Victoria  Nyanza  and  Albert  Nyanza,  to  the 
west  to  Tanganyika  Lake,  and  to  the  south-west,  the 
Nyassa  and  Bangweolo  Lakes.  To  the  west  of  these 
lakes,  saving  only  the  countries  lying  along  the  banks  of 
the  Lualaba,  Livingstone,  or  Congo  River,  along  which 
Stanley  traveled,  the  land  Is  almost  unknown. 

*  King  of  Congo. 


'34-2 


EHHOJi'S   CHAINS. 


Even  of  the  African  peoples  among  whom  Europeans 
have  lived,  it  is  difficult  to  learn  much  of  their  religions. 
First,  because  they  have  no  sacred  books,  no  records,  in 
fact  no  writing  at  all.  Their  traditions  and  teachings 
have  all  been  handed  down  by  word  of  mouth.  Again, 
the  Africans  are  unwillino-  to  tell  foreig-ners  about  their 
religious  beliefs,  customs  and  worships.  It  is  difficult  to 
gain  their  confidence.  When  one  asks  them  about  it^ 
tliey  give  evasive  answers,  or  pretend  to  know  nothing 
about  the  matter.  This  fact  has  led  to  the  supposition 
that  some  of  these  peoples  had  no  religious  nature  what- 
ever, but  that  they  formed  an  exception  to  the  general 
evidence  in  favor  of  man's  religious  nature. 

Yet  travelers  have  by  patient  investigation,  obser- 
vation and  inquiry  learned  considerable.  They  have 
compared  their  conclusions,  and  have  so  been  able  to 
give  us  some  idea  of  the  gods  and  religions  of  Africa. 

The  Africans  have  no  buildings  of  brick  or  stone,  and 
have  no  knowledge,  seemingly,  of  writing.  These  two  facts 
have  been  brought  to  show  that  the  Africans  must  have 
left  the  rest  of  the  family  of  mankind  very  soon  after  the 
Deluge.  The  Africans  are,  with  the  exception  of  some 
of  the  South  Sea  Islanders,  and  the  Aborigines  of  Aus- 
tralia, the  most  degraded  people  on  the  face  of  the  earth. 
But  here  and  there  among  them  are  small  nations  who 
are  intelligent,  and  shrewd,  and  possessed  of  capabilities 
which  place  them  above  their  fellow-Africans.  The 
African  peoples  are  of  all  shades  of  color,  from  blackest 
black  to  purest  white,  and  just  so  do  they  vary  very 
greatly  in  point  of  intelligence.  Yet  the  best  are  vel-y 
degraded,  and  the  worst  are  but  little  above  the  beasts ' 
of  field  or  forest.  If  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  is 
needed  anywhere,  it  is  among  the  peoples  of  the  Dark 
Continent. 


THE  DARK  CONTINENT. 


343 


A  LAWYER  OF  ZULULAND. 
AFRICAN    BELIEF    IN    A    GOD    OR    GODS. 

There  are  to  be  found  even  yet  traces  of  the  high 
position  from  which  the  Africans  have  fallen  in  their 
degradation.  One  of  these  tr^^ces  is  the  universal  belief 
in  a  God  or  gods.     This,  of  course,  is  no  such  exalted 


344 


EHJiOR'S   CHAINS. 


idea  of  a  Supreme  Being  as  is  to  be  found  among- 
Christian  nations  or  even  among  the  better  nations  of 
heathens,  but  still  it  is  a  Great  One  in  whom  they  believe. 
This  belief  is  not  the  result  of  reasoning,  of  observation 
of  the  powers  of  nature  or  of  study  of  their  own  human 
nature,  but  is  an  inborn  conception.  Apart  from  revela- 
tion, apart  from  argument,  from  cause  and  effect,  from 
design,  from  government  or  from  anything  else,  men 
must  believe  in  a  God  or  gods.  Hence  we  are  not  as- 
tonished at  findingf  that  among-  all  the  Africans  there  is 
this  belief.  Many  of  their  ideas  of  God  are  horrible, 
shocking  and  revolting,  others  again  attach  no  evil  ideas 
to  their  gods,  but  exalt  them  in  a  very  high  degree. 

PRAYING    FOR    RAIN. 

In  South-eastern  Africa,  along  the  Zambesi  River,  the 
people  pray  to  a  god,  with  whom  they  connect  no  impure 
traditions  or  degraded  worship.  When  in  danger  of  war 
or  famine,  they  appeal  to  this  god.  They  call  him  Mpambi. 
The  worship  is  of  this  kind:  When  famine  is  threat- 
ened because  rain  is  withheld,  the  people  of  a  village  re- 
sort to  a  cleared  space  of  ground,  inclosed  by  a  fence. 
Here  2.  prayer-hut  is  erected.  Women  and  men  worship 
together.  Generally  a  princess  having  in  one  hand  a 
basket  containlno-  Indian  corn-meal,  and  in  the  other  a 
pot  of  native  beer,  or  Pombi,  goes  into  the  hut,  where 
she  can  be  seen  and  heard.  She  puts  the  basket  and 
jar  on  either  side  of  her  and  sprinkling  a  handful  of 
meal  on  the  floor,  cries,  "Imva  Mpambi,  Adza  moula!" 
(Hear,  O  God,  and  send  rain  !)  The  people  respond  by 
gently  clapping  their  hands  and  chanting,  Hear,  O  God  \ 
This  is  repeated  until  all  the  meal  is  used  up.  Then  the 
jar  of  Pombi  is  emptied  on  the  floor.  The  woman  then 
comes  out  of  the  hut,  closing  the  door.    Throwing  them- 


THE  DARK  CONTINENT.  -  .c 

selves  upon  their  backs,  she  and  the  people  unite  in  pray- 
ing- "Hear,  O  God,  send  rain!"  Then  she  arises,  washes 
herself  in  a  jar  of  water  which  stands  before  the  chief. 
Then  all  the  women  take  their  calabash  cups  and  throw 
the  water  into  the  air,  with  frantic  gesticulations. 

Among  the  Zulus  the  lightning  and  thunder  were  repre- 
sented as  cominor  from  "The  Lord  in  Heaven."  If  lieht- 
ning  struck  and  killed  the  cattle  the  people  were  not  dis- 
tressed. It  was  said  "The  Lord  has  slaughtered  for  Him- 
self  among  His  own  flock.  Is  it  yours?  Is  it  not  the  Lord's? 
He  is  hungry  ;  He  kills  for  Himself."  If  a  village  is 
struck  with  lightning  and  a  cow  is  killed,  they  say  "This 
village  will  be  prosperous."  If  a  man  is  killed,  thus  they 
said,  "The  Lord  has  found  fault  with  him."  When  they 
pray  for  rain,  the  heads  of  the  village  select  some  black 
oxen  (like  the  black  clouds  which  bring  rain)  and  one  is 
killed  in  sacrifice.  Its  flesh  is  eaten  in  the  house  in 
silence.  The  bones  are  burnt  outside  of  the  village. 
After  this  a  song  is  sung,  or  hummed,  for  no  words  are  used. 

THE  Hottentots'  god,  gounja  gounja. 

The  Hottentots  call  God  "  Gounja  Gounja  "  or  "Gounja 
Ticquoa."  They  are  said  to  have  no  divine  worship,  and 
few,  if  any,  religious  ceremonies,  and,  in  their  savage 
state,  appear  a  very  stupid  race,  almost  void  of  the  power 
of  reason,  without  any  knowledge  of  divine  subjects,  and 
but  a  vague  notion  that  there  is  one  great  Lord  of  all,  and 
likewise  an  evil  spirit,  a  devil.  They  observe  a  yearly 
festival  when  the  seven  stars  appear  together,  at  the 
beginning  of  summer.  The  parents  wake  their  children 
when  these  stars  appear,  and  go  with  them  into  the 
fields,  where  they  dance  and  sing.  Their  song  is,  "  O 
Ticquoa,  thou  Father  over  our  heads,  give  us  rain,  that 
all  our  fruits  may  ripen  and  we  may  have  food  in  plenty." 


346 


EA'A'O/rS   CHAINS. 


THE    BUSHMEN  S    GOD. 

The   Bushmen  beheve  that  there  is  a  god  in  the  sky, 
whom   they  call  Kaang,  or  chief.     One  of  the  Bushmen 

says  of  his  country- 
men: "They  perform 
a  kind  of  religious 
worship  to  two  rocks, 
the  one  representing 
a  male,  and  the  other 
a  female.  When  going 
out  to  hunt,  they  im- 
plore the  aid  of  thesq 
deities  to  provide 
them  with  food.  First 
they  go  to  the  male 
rock,  and  strike  it  with 
a  stick.  If  it  sounds, 
they  believe  the  re- 
port is  heafd  in  Heav- 
en, and  they  will  have 
success ;  but  if  they 
get  nothing,  they  re- 
pair to  the  female 
rock,  which  they  think 
is  inhabited  by  a  mali- 
cious spirit,  and  beat 
it  well,  upbraiding  it, 
saying :'  'Why  do  you 
by  your  hidden  arms 
cause  all  the  game  to 
be  shot  dead  so  that 

KING  COFFEE'S  PROTECTING  GOD  r       i  .  >. 

we  can  nnd  none. 
All  the  tribes  of  Western  Africa  show  some  belief  in 


THE  DARK  CONTINENT. 


347 


gods.  The  Mohammedans  and  the  Portuguese  and 
EngHsh  traders  have  of  late  years  affected  the  peoples' 
notions  to  some  extent;  but  from  the  descriptions  of 
earlier  travelers  we  can  see  what  their  belief  was.  In 
Sierra  Leone  they  called  God  "  Canou ;"  on  the  Gambia 
River,  they  called  their  god  "  China."  The  Niam-Niams 
call  their  o:od  "Noro." 

Among  the  Africans  are  found  many  traditions  of  the 
origin  of  the  world  and  of  men.  Among  the  Zulus,  the 
following  tradition  is  held,  which  will  serve  as  a  specimen  : 

ZULU    TRADITION    OF   THE    ORIGIN    OF    MEN. 

Umkululu,  the  first  man,  had  his  origin  in  a  valley  of 
this  world,  where  there  was  a  bed  of  reeds.  He  sprung 
from  the  bed  of  reeds,  and  a  woman  (a  wife)  sprung  from 
the  same  bed  of  reeds  after  him.  They  had  but  one 
name,  that  of  Umkulunkulu  ;  and  men  sprung  from  Um- 
kulunkulu  by  generation.  All  things,  as  well  as  Umku- 
lunkulu, sprung  from  a  bed  of  reeds ;  everything,  both 
animals  and  corn  coming  into  being  with  him.  He 
looked  upon  the  sun  when  it  was  finished,  and  said : 
"There  is  a  torch  which  shall  give  you  light,  that  you 
may  see."  He  looked  on  the  cattle,  and  said :  "There 
are  cattle ;  be  ye  broken  off,  and  let  the  cattle  be  your 
food ;  eat  their  flesh  and  drink  their  milk."  He  looked 
on  wild  animals,  and  said:  "That  is  such  an  animal; 
that  is  an  elephant ;  that  is  a  buffalo."  He  looked  on 
the  fire,  and  said :  "  Kindle  it,  and  cook,  and  warm  your- 
self, and  eat  meat  when  in  has  been  dressed  by  the  fire." 
He  looked  on  all  things,  and  said :  "  So-and-so  is  the 
name  of  everything." 

Among  the  Basutos  there  is  a  legend  that  men  and 
animals  came  from  the  interior  of  the  earth,  out  of  an 
immense  hole. 


348 


ERROR'S   CHAlPr^. 


GOOD    AND    BAD    SPIRITS. 

Between  the  Supreme  Being  and  man,  the  Africans 
beheve  that  there  are  a  vast  number  of  spirits.  They 
are  not  afraid  of  God,  but  they  have  an  intense  dread  of 
these  spirits.  They  beheve  that  God  is  too  far  off  to 
hurt  them  much,  but  they  beHeve  that  the  world  of  spirits 
is  around  them.  Even  when  God  does  send  Hghtning 
or  thunder,  for  instance,  it  is  because  the  spirits  bring- 
them  down.  To  their  imaginations  these  spirits  people 
the  darkness  with  hideous  shapes,  poison  the  light  with 
their  presence,  sweep  over  the  plains  in  the  forms  of  wild 
beasts,  fill  the  forests,  inhabit  trees,  live  on  the  tops  of 
the  mountains,  and  in  the  secluded  recesses  of  caves  and 
valleys ;  make  their  homes  in  the  sea,  the  lakes  and  the 
rivers  ;  the  air  is  full  of  them,  the  earth  teems  with  them ; 
fire  is  not  free  from  their  presence,  and  human  beings 
are  possessed  by  them.     To  them,  also,  they  attribute  the 

sorrows  and  the 
sufferings,  the 
misfortunes, 
and,  in  most 
cases,  the  deaths 
of  mankind. 

As  elsewhere, 
there  are  men 
who  take  advan- 
tage of  the  su- 
perstitious con- 
dition of  their 
fellow  country- 
THE  PRIESTS'  TRICK  OF  RAISING  AN  IDOL  OUT  OF     men,  and  make 

THE  EARTH.  •  r*^      ^T-1 

gamotit.    Ihree 
priests  once  assured  their  followers  that  they  could  raise 


THE   DARK  CONTINENT.  ^^g 

an  idol  out  of  the  ground,  and  would  do  it  the  next  day. 
During  the  night  they  dug  a  hole,  in  which  they  placed  a 
lot  of  dried  peas  and  an  idol's  head  and  shoulders.  They 
covered  all  up  carefully.  Just  before  daylight  they  took 
some  water  and  poured  it  upon  the  peas.  The  people 
gathered  early  in  the  morning  to  see  the  priests  keep 
their  promise.  They  came  forth,  and,  as  the  peas  gradu- 
ally swelled,  began  their  incantations  and  murmurings, 
and,  of  course,  very  soon  the  idol  appeared,  and  the  de- 
luded people  were  abundantly  satisfied. 

THE    SPIRIT    IN    THE    INSECT. 

The  Hottentots  believed  that  the  good  spirits  some- 
times came  in  the  form  of  a  winged  insect,  having  a  green 
back,  a  belly  speckled  with  white  and  red,  and  with  two 
horns.    They  worshiped  this  insect  wherever  they  found  it. 

If  this  insect  alighted  on  a  Hottentot  he  was  looked 
upon  as  a  man  without  fault,  and  distinguished  and  rev- 
erenced as  a  sacred  person  ever  after.  His  neighbors 
gloried  that  they  had  such  a  favored  mortal  amongst 
them,  and  published  the  fact  far  and  near.  The  fattest 
ox  belong-inof  to  the  kraal  was  killed  as  a  thank-offerinof, 
and  all  the  people  kept  festival  for  days.  The  case  was 
in  every  respect  the  same  if  the  insect  alighted  upon  a 
woman ;  she  was  regarded  as  a  sanctified  person  and  the 
delight  of  the  spirit. 

The  son  of  a  German,  who  had  given  leave  to  some 
Hottentots  to  turn  their  cattle  upon  his  land,  was  amusing 
himself  one  day  in  the  kraal,  when  this  insect  appeared. 
The  Hottentots  immediately  ran  tumultuously  to  adore 
it,  while  the  young  German  ran  to  catch  it,  in  order  to 
see  what  the  effect  would  be  amongst  them.  He  seized 
it  in  the  midst  of  them.  The  cry  of  agony  was  general 
when  they  saw  it  in  his  hands.     They  stared  with  dis- 


350 


ERUOK'S   CHAINS. 


traction  in  their  eyes  at  him  and  at  one  another.  "See, 
see,  see!"  said  they.  "What  is  he  going  to  do?  Will 
he  kill  it?"  They  were  wild  through  apprehensio^i  of  its 
fate.  "Why,"  said  he,  "do  you  make  such  a  hideous 
noise;  and  why  are  you  in  such  agony  about  this  paltry 
creature?"  "Ah!"  they  replied,  with  utmost  concern, 
"it  is  a  divinity.  It  is  come  from  Heaven.  It  is  come  on 
a  good  design.  Do  not  hurt  it;  do  not  offend  it.  W^e 
are  the  most  miserable  wretches  on  earth  if  you  do.  This 
ground  will  lie  under  a  curse,  and  the  crime  will  never 
be  forgiven."  This  was  not  enough  for  the  young  Ger- 
man, who  determined  to  carry  the  experiment  a  little 
further,  and  made  as  though  he  certainly  intended  tc 
maim  or  destroy  it.  On  this  the  people  ran  about,  and 
screamed  as  though  they  were  frantic;  they  fell  prostrate 
on  the  ground  before  him,  and  with  streaming  eyes  and 
loudest  cries  besought  him  to  spare  the  creature  and 
give  it  its  liberty.  Having  sufficiently  tested  the  reality 
of  their  belief  in  this  insect-god,  he  let  it  fly,  and  they 
shouted  in  all  the  transports  of  joy. 

FETICH    WORSHIP. 

A  fetich  is  some  material  object  in  which  a  god  or 
a  supernatural  power  is  supposed  to  dwell.  An  idol  is 
a  representation  of  a  god.  Fetichism  is  the  lowest  form 
of  idolatry.  Fetichism  and  witchcraft  go  together. 
The  fetiches  guard  against  the  power  of  witches,  and 
this  is  their  primary  object.  They  act  as  charms  or  amu- 
lets, and  are  worn  on  all  parts  of  the  body  to  keep  off 
disease;  are  placed  around  the  houses,  villages  or  fields 
to  keep  off  hurtful  influences.  The  fetiches  are  of  vari- 
ous sorts  ;  the  reeds  of  certain  plants,  the  roots  of  cer- 
tain trees,  the  horns  of  a  diminutive  deer,  the  claws  and 
teeth  of  lions  and  leopards  and  other  sorts  of  animals, 


,5^^:js$s*!*  ^^i66*»-ay»*5*.^«St  .;N)(Vv«ff)is««.^f„ 


A  YOUNG  FETICHIST, 

Showing  some  of  the  various  trinkets  and  amulets  upon  M;hich  dependence  for  an  increase  of 
sanctity  and  safety  is  placed  by  the  devout. 


THE  DARK  CONTINENT. 


351 


slips  of  wood  fantastically  notched,  knuckle-bones,  beads 
and  a  kind  of  white  stone,  being  most  commonly  used. 
Amongst  the   Kafhrs,  whose   beUef  in  witchcraft  is  in- 


A  CAZEMEE  FETICH  MAN. 

tense,  faith  in  the  virtues  of  fetiches  is,  as  a  natural  conse- 
quence, equally  great.  You  rarely  meet  with  a  Kaffir 
who  does  not  carry  with  him  a  whole  series  of  charms. 


352 


EHKOK'S   CHAINS. 


These,  of  course,  are  furnished  by  the  witch-doctors  and 
prophets,  and  as  they  are  not  of  the  least  intrinsic  value, 
and  are  highly  paid  for,  the  business  of  making  fetich  is 
a  profitable  one.  To  a  European  a  superstitious  Kaffir 
has  a  very  ludicrous  appearance,  as  the  following  de- 
scription of  a  man  who  seems  to  have  been  peculiarly 
impressible  to   the  value  of  fetich  will  show.     His  head 

was  richly  bedecked 
with  pig's  bristles,  set 
straight,  so  as  to  stand 
out  on  all  sides  like  the 
quills  of  a  hedgehog, 
with  many  feathers  on 
his  head,  while  around 
his  neck    there   was 


strunor  ^ 


great  num- 


ber of  charms,  the 
principal  of  which  were 
fragments  of  bone,  the 
head  of  a  snake,  the 
toodi  of  a  young  hip- 
popotamus, and  an 
old  brass  door-handle. 
The  Africans  be- 
lieve that  there  are 
lucky  fetiches  which 
guarantee  them  suc- 
cess in  all  their  un- 
dertakings. They  re- 
spect one  another's  fetiches,  and  will  not  attack  an 
enemy  when  they  think  that  he  has  a  fetich  superior  to 
their  own.  They  are  therefore  very  ready  and  eager  to 
discover  wherein  special  excellence  may  lie.  A  fetich  of 
supposed  superiority  will  command  a  high  price. 


DECORATED  FETICHIST. 


THE  JU-JU  HOUSE,  OR  TEMPLE  OF  SKULLS,  AT  BONNY,  WEST  AFRICA. 

After  devouring  the  bodies  of  their  victims,  the  priests  of  the  people  of  Bonny  were  wont  to  take 
the  skulls  and  place  them  in  the  walls  of  their  temples. 


THE  DARK  CONTINENT. 


A   HORRIBLE   FETICH. 


355 


When  hard  pressed  in  war,  and  in  danger  of  being- 
utterly  overthrown,  in  some  parts  of  Africa,  the  people — ■ 
like  the  kine  of  Moab,  who  sacrificed  his  own  son  when 
the  battle  went  against  him,  in  order  to  move  the  compas- 
sion of  his  adversaries,  or  to  inspire  them  with  terror,  or 
as  a  sacrifice  to  offended  gods — will  make  horrible  fe- 
tiches of  human  beings.  Perhaps  the  most  astounding 
instance  of  such  a  practice  occurred  in  West  Africa. 
The  king  of  Bonny  having  been  defeated  in  battle,  re- 
treated to  his  principal  town,  and  finding  that  it  was  in 
imminent  danger  of  being  attacked,  called  together  his 
magicians  in  order  that  they  might  aid  him  in  repelling 
his  enemies.  They  were  equal  to  the  emergency.  The 
people  were  assembled  in  front  of  the  principal  gate  of 
the  town.  Two  holes  were  dug  in  the  ground  close  to 
each  other.  The  wizards  then  begun  their  operations, 
and  when  the  people  had  been  wrought  up  by  their  pro- 
ceedings to  a  pitch  of  unreasoning  excitement,  so  that 
they  were  ready  to  perpetrate  any  act  no  matter  how 
horrible,  the  chief  of  the  wizards  pointed  to  a  girl  who 
was  standing  amongst  the  spectators.  She  was  instantly 
seized,  and,  under  his  direction,  her  legs  were  thrust  into 
the  holes  that  had  been  prepared  for  this  purpose,  which 
were  then  filled  up  with  earth  so  that  she  could  not  extri- 
cate herself  from  them.  Then  a  number  of  men  brought 
lumps  of  wet  clay,  which  they  built  around  her  body  in 
the  form  of  a  pillar,  kneading  them  closely  as  they  pro- 
ceeded, until  she  was  entirely  covered  over.  This  device 
produced  the  desired  effect,  for  so  terrified  were  the 
hostile  tribes  at  what  they  regarded  as  an  invincible 
fetich — or  greegree,  as  the  fetich  is  called  in  West  Africa — 
that  they  dared  not  attack  the  town,  and,  like  the  kings 


356 


EHRO/i'S   CHAINS. 


of  Israel  and  Judah,  after  the  sacrifice  of  the  king  of 
Moab's  son,  they  withdrew  from  the  further  prosecution 
of  the  war,  and  returned  to  their  homes. 

The  clay  pillar,  with  the  body  of  the  girl  within  it,  stood 
for  several  years  where  it  had  been  erected,  and  served 
effectually  to  preserve  the  tov/n  from  being  again  attacked 
or  in  any  way  troubled  by  its  enemies. 

STANLEY    AND    THE    AFRICANS'    FEAR    OF    FETICH. 

The  Africans  have  a  superstitious  dread  of  writing  and 
regard  it  as  a  bad  fetich.  When  the  African  traveler, 
Stanley,  had   almost  finished    his  journey  through    the 

Dark  Continent,  he  was  one  day 
making  some  entries  in  his  note- 
book. This  book  contained  all 
the  important  results  of  his  great 
journey.  Seeing  him  writing 
the  savages  surrounded  him  and 
demanded  that  he  destroy  the 
"  tara-tara,"  as  they  called  it,  lest 
it  should  injure  them.  They 
said  that  those  black  lines  on 
the  paper  would  bring  sickness 
and  death  to  them  and  their 
animals  unless  the  book  was 
burned.  The  savages  were  de-- 
termined  to  get  the  book.  Only 
by  a  trick  could  he  save  either 
the  book  or  his  own  life.  He 
went  to  his  tent  and  managed  to 
exchange  his  note-book  for  a 
copy  of  Shakespeare's  works. 
This  he  burned  "to  please  his  friends,"  as  he  told  them. 
The  Africans  have   idols  of  all  shapes  and  sizes  and 


IDOLS  WITH  MIRRORS  IN 
THEIR  BODIES. 


THE   DARK  CONTINENT. 


357 


made  of  all  sorts  of  materials.  Some  of  these  are  pro- 
vided with  looking-glasses  in  their  stomachs,  but  for  what 
purpose  we  do  not  know.  They  have  a  few  god-houses 
or  huts.  Their 
continent  is  dark 
not  only  because 
peopled  in  the 
main  by  peoples 
whose  skins  are 
dark,  but  because 
the  light  of.  re- 
ligion seems  al- 
most to  have  died 
out  and  darkness 
to  have  covered 
the  land  and  all 
of  the  people. 

WITCHCRAFT. 

To  polyganu 
and  slavery  a 
witchcraft  sup( 
stitions,  and  t 
degradation 
Africa  is  pre 
erly  called  "d( 
perate"  degrada- 
tion. It  may  be 
doubted  whether 
polygamy  and  slavery  are  as  great  obstacles  to  civilization 
as  are  these  superstitions.  These  are  interlaced  with  the 
whole  structure  of  African  society.  No  one  is  supposed  to 
die  from  natural  causes  ;  disease  is  charged  to  witchcraft. 
No  one  is  killed  in  war,  in  hunting,  by  drowning  or  mis- 


A  WITCH  DOCTOR. 


;58 


ERUOR'S   CHAINS. 


chance,  but  it  is  charged  to  witchcraft.  The  witches 
must  be  found  out  and  tortured  to  confession  and  death. 

"  I  was  asked,"  says  Du  Chaillu,  whose  representations 
of  witchcraft  superstitions  are  abundantly  confirmed  by 
other  travelers  and  missionaries,  "  to  go  and  see  an  old 
friend  of  mine,  Mpomo,  who  was  sick.  They  had  spent 
the  nieht  before  drumming  about  his  bed  to  drive  out 
the  devil.  But  I  soon  saw  that  neither  drumming  nor 
medicine  would  help  the  poor  fellow.  The  film  of  death 
was  in  his  eyes.  He  held  out  his  hand  to  me  and  feebly 
said :  '  Chally,  save  me,  for  I  am  dying.' 

"  He  was  surrounded  by  hundreds  of  people,  most  of 
them  moved  to  tears  by  dieir  friend's  pitiable  condition. 
I  explained  to  him,  that  I  had  no  power  to  save  him ;  but 
he  and  all  around  had  the  conviction  that  if  I  only  wished 
I  could  cure  him.  They  followed  me  to  my  house,  asking 
for  medicine.  Not  to  seem  heartless,  I  sent  him  some- 
thing to  make  his  remaining  moments  easy.  At  the  same 
time  I  warned  them  that  he  would  die  and  they  must  not 
blame  me.  When  I  awoke  the  next  morning  I  heard  the 
mournful  wail  which  proclaimed  that  poor  Mpomo  had 
gone  to  his  long  rest.  The  cry  of  the  African  mourners 
is  the  saddest  I  ever  heard.  They  mourn  literally  as 
those  who  have  no  hope. 

"In  the  afternoon  I  heard  talk  of  witchcraft.  On  the 
day  Mpomo  was  buried  proceedings  were  begun  to  dis- 
cover who  had  bewitched  him.  A  great  doctor  was 
brought  from  up  the  river,  and  for  two  nights  and  days 
incantations  were  repeated.  On  the  third  morning,  when 
old  and  young,  male  and  female,  were  frantic  with  the 
desire  of  revenge,  the  doctor  began  his  final  incantations. 
Every  man  and  boy  was  armed  with  spears,  or  guns,  or 
axes.  The  whole  town  was  possessed  by  a  thirst  for 
human  blood.     For  the  first  time  I  found  my  voice  with- 


THE  DARK  CONTINENT.  -yen 

out  authority.  I  could  not  even  get  a  hearing-.  .  .  . 
At  a  motion  from  the  doctor,  the  people  became  still. 
This  silence  lasted  about  a  minute  when  the  loud  voice  of 
the  doctor  was  heard:  'There  is  a  very  black  woman  who 
lives  in  a  house,'  describing  it,  '  she  bewitched  Mpomo.' 
The  crowd,  roaring  and  screaming,  rushed  frantically  for 
the  place  indicated.  They  seized  upon  a  poor  girl  named 
Okondaga,  the  sister  of  my  good  friend  and  guide 
Adouma.  Waving  their  weapons  over  her  head,  they 
tore  her  away  to  the  water-side,  bound  her  with  cords, 
and  then  rushed  back  to  the  doctor  again. 

"As  poor  Okondaga  passed  by  in  the  hands  of  her 
murderers,  she  saw  me,  though  I  had  turned  away  not  to 
be  seen,  for  I  could  not  help  her.  I  heard  her  cry  out, 
'  Chally,  Chally,  do  not  let  me  die  !'  It  was  a  moment  of 
agony ;  I  was  minded  to  rush  into  the  crowd  and  rescue 
the  poor  victim.  But  I  should  only  have  sacrificed  my 
life,  without  helping  her.  So  I  hid  myself  behind  a  tree, 
and,  I  confess  it,  shed  bitter  tears. 

"Presently  silence  fell  once  more  upon  the  crowd. 
Then  the  voice  of  the  devilish  doctor  aeain  rano-  over  the 
town,  like  the  croak  of  a  raven,  'There  is  an  old  woman 
in  a  house,'  describing  it,  '  she  bewitched  Mpomo.' 

"  The  crowd  rushed  off  and  seized  a  niece  of  Kine 
Ouenguesa,  a  noble-hearted  and  majestic  old  woman. 
As  they  crowded  about  with  flaming  eyes,  she  rose 
proudly  from  the  ground,  looked  them  in  the  face  un- 
flinchingly, and  motioning  them  to  keep  their  hands  off, 
said,  T  will  drink  the  mboundou,  but  woe  to  my  accusers  if 
I  do  not  die.'  She  was  escorted  to  the  river  without  beinof 
bound.     She  submitted  without  a  tear  or  a  murmur. 

"  A  third  time  the  dreadful  silence  fell  upon  the  town, 
and  the  doctor's  voice  was  heard :  *  There  is  a  woman . 
with  six   children.     She   lives   on   a  plantation  toward 


36o 


£J^A'OA'-S    CnAINS. 


the  rising-  sun.  She,  too,  bewitched  Mpomo.'  Another 
furious  shout,  and  in  a  few  moments  they  brought  to 
the  river  one  of  Quenguesa's  slaves,  a  good  woman, 
whom  I  knew.  The  doctor  now,  in  a  loud  voice,  recited 
the  crime  of  which  these  women  were  accused.  Okon- 
daga,  he  said,  some  weeks  before,  asked  Mpomo  for 
some  salt,  and  he  refused  her.  She  had  said  unpleasant 
thing's  to  him,  and  had  by  sorcery  taken  his  life. 

"Then  Quenguesa's  niece  was  accused.  She  had  no 
children,  and  Mpomo  had  children.  She  envied  him,  and 
had  bewitched  him. 

"Quenguesa's  slave  had  asked  Mpomo  for  a  looking- 
oflass.  He  had  refused  her.  Therefore  she  had  killed 
him  with  sorcery.  As  each  accusation  was  repeated,  the 
people  broke  out  into  curses.  Even  the  relatives  of  the 
poor  victims  were  obliged  to  join  in  this.  Every  one 
rivaled  his  neicjhbor  in  cursino-  each  fearful  lest  luke- 
warmness  should  expose  him  to  a  like  fate. 

"The  victims  were  put  into  a  large  canoe  with  the 
executioners,  the  doctor,  and  a  number  of  the  people,  all 
armed.  Then  the  tam-tams  were  beaten,  and  the 
mboundou  quabi  was  prepared.  Mpomo's  eldest  brother 
held  the  poisoned  cup  to  his  sister's  lips.  At  sight  of  it 
poor  Okondaga  began  to  cry,  and  even  Quenguesa's 
niece  turned  pale,  for  the  negro  face  has  at  such  times  a 
pallor  quite  perceptible.  The  mug  of  mboundou  was 
handed  to  the  old  slave  woman,  then  to  the  royal  niece, 
and  last  to  Okondaga.  As  they  drank  the  multitude 
shouted:  Tf  they  are  witches  let  the  mboundou  kill 
them,  if  they  are  innocent  let  the  mboundou  go  out.' 

"Suddenly  the  slave  woman  fell  down.  She  had  not 
touched  the  bottom  of  the  boat  before  her  head  was 
hacked  off  by  a  dozen  swords.  Next  came  Quenguesa's 
niece.     In  an  instant  her  head  was  cut  off,  and  her  blood 


THE   DARK   CONTINENT. 


361 


was  dyeing  the  waters.  Meantime  poor  Okondaga  stag- 
gered, and  struggled,  and  cried,  vainly  resisting  the  work- 
ing of  the  poison  in  her  system.  Last  of  all,  she  fell. 
Then  all  became  confused.  A  random  hacking  ensued, 
and  in  an  incredibly  short  time  the  bodies  were  cut  in 
small  pieces  which  were  cast  into  the  river. 

"After  this  the  crowd  dispersed  to  their  houses,  and  for 
the  rest  of  the  day  the  town  was  silent.  Some  of  these 
rude  people  felt  that  the  number  in  their  almost  extin- 
guished tribe  was  becoming  less,  and  the  dread  of  death 
filled  their  hearts.  In  the  evening  poor  Adouma  came 
secretly  to  my  house,  to  unburden  his  sorrowing  heart. 
He,  too,  had  been  compelled  to  take  part  in  the  dreadful 
scene.  He  dared  not  refrain  from  joining  in  the  curses 
heaped  upon  his  poor  sister.  He  dared  not  mourn  pub- 
licly for  her.  I  comforted  him  as  well  as  I  could,  and  I 
spoke  to  him  of  the  true  God,  and  of  the  wickedness  of 
the  conduct  we  had  witnessed.  He  said  at  last,  *0 
Chally,  when  you  go  back  to  your  far  country,  America, 
let  them  send  men  to  us  poor  people  to  teach  us  from 
that  which  you  call  God's  mouth,'  meaning  the  Bible.  I 
promised  Adouma  to  give  the  message,  and  I  now  do  so." 

God  pity  poor  Africa!  May  the  Light  of  the  Sun  of 
Righteousness  soon  shine  on  her  dark  land! 


362  ERROR'S  CHAINS. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE     ABORIGINES     OF     AMERICA. 

Darin  besteht  eben  die  Bedeutung  der  Amerikanishen  Religionen, 
dass  sie  mehr  als  andete,  wenigstens  mehrals  andere  Religionen  von 
Kulturvolkern,  das  primitive  und  unabgeschwachte  Heidenthum  dar- 
stellen. — Dr.  J.  G.  Muller. 

THE  religion  of  the  American  Indians  and  Alask- 
ans partakes  of  the  character  of  their  national 
life ;  yet  there  are  traces  of  the  original  ideas 
of  God,  the  creation  and  early  history  of  man  and  the 
world,  which  we  find  in  the  religions  of  the  far  East- 
ern nations.  As  we  have  before  said,  we  believe  the 
early  inhabitants  of  America  to  have  come  from  the 
eastern  shores  of  Asia,  having  been  washed  along  in 
their  fishing  vessels  by  the  current  of  the  Kuro  Shiwo 
(or  black  stream),  flowing  by  the  western  coasts  of 
America,  or  perhaps  crossing  on  the  islands  of  the  North 
Pacific,  where  Asia  and  America  almost  come  together. 
They  differ  from  the  peoples  of  Eastern  Asia,  but,  per- 
haps, only  in  such  points  as  a  different  climate  and  dif- 
ferent habits  of  life  would  produce. 

All  the  people  of  the  continent  of  America  appear  to 
have  come  from  one  stock.  The  squalid  Esquimaux  at 
one  extremity  of  the  chain,  the  polished  Aztec  or  Inca  at 
the  other;  agriculturists,  and  hunters,  and  canoe-men; 
tribes  frequenting  the  shores  of  the  great  northern  lakes, 
or  scattered  in  the  dense  savannahs  of  the  South ;  all 
their  languages  grow  out  of  a  few  flexible  tongues.   They 


THE   ''GREAT  SPIRIT"    OF  AMERICA. 


bear  a  resemblance  to  the  Turanian  languages — the  Ma- 
laysian, the  Japanese  and  others.  We  can  divide  the 
American  peoples  into  two  classes — the  civilized  and  the 
savage.  To  the  first  class  belong  the  'Mexicans  and 
Peruvians ;  to  the  latter,  the  savages  of  North  America, 
including  the  Red  Indians,  the  Alaskans  and  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  West  Indies,  and  wild  tribes  of  South  America 
— the  Patagonians,  Guianlans,  etc. 

THE    INDIANS   OF   NORTH  AMERICA. 

These  nations  have  the  virtues  of  savage  life — a  sense 
of  honor,  according  to  their  perceptions  of  duty,  mutual 
fidelity  among 
individuals,  a 
fortitude  which 
mocks  at  the 
most  cruel  tor- 
ments, and  a 
devotedness  to 
their  own  tribe 
which  makes 
self-immolation 
in  its  defense 
easy.  On  the 
other  hand,  they 
treat  their  wives 
brutally,  and 
their  children 
with  indifference.  The  apathy  under  the  good  and  ill  of 
life  which  the  Stoic  affected  is  the  grrand  element  of  the 
Indian's  character.  Gloomy,  stern  and  severe,  he  is,  it 
would  seem,  a  stranger  to  mirth  and  laughter;  yet,  in 
their  legends,  frequent  reference  is  made  to  laughter. 
All  outward  expressions  of  pain  or  pleasure  he  regards 


INDIAN  MEDICINE  MAN. 


364 


EI^ROR-S   C//J/XS. 


as  a  weakness ;  and  the  only  feeling  to  which  he  ever 
yields  is  the  boisterous  joy  which  he  manifests  in  the 
moment  of  victory,  or  under  the  excitement  of  intoxica- 
tion  He  is  capable  of  great  exertions  in  war  or  the  chase, 
hut  has  an  unconquerable  aversion  to  regular  labor.  He 
is  extremely  improvident ;  eats  enormously  while  he  has 
an  abundance  of  food,  without  thinking  of  the  famine 
which  may  follow ;  and,  when  liquors  are  supplied  to 
him,  will  continue  drunk  for  days.  Corresponding  to  the 
priests  among  other  peoples,  the  Indians  have  "  Medicine 
Men ;"  they  believe  that  these  possess  great  power,  and 
they  trust  implicitly  in  all  their  directions. 

THE    GREAT    SPIRIT. 

Most  of  the  Indians  of  North  America  believe  in  the 
existence  of  a  supreme  being,  whom  they  call  the  Great 
Spirit;  and  of  a  subordinate  one,  whose  nature  is  evil 
and  hostile  to  man.  To  the  latter  their  worship  is  princi- 
pally addressed;  the  Good  Spirit,  in  their  opinion,  needing 
no  prayers  to  induce  him  to  aid  and  protect  His  creatures. 
They  generally  believe  in  a  future  state,  in  which  the 
souls  of  brave  warriors  and  chaste  wives  enjoy  a  tranquil 
and  happy  existence  with  their  ancestors  and  friends, 
spending  their  time  in  those  exercises  in  which  they  de- 
lighted when  on  earth.  The  Dakotas  believe  that  the  road 
to  these  "villages  of  the  dead  "  leads  over  a  rock  with  an 
edge  as  sharp  as  a  knife,  on  which  only  the  good  are 
able  to  keep  their  footing.  The  wicked  fall  off  and  de- 
scend to  the  region  of  the  Evil  .Spirit,  where  they  are 
hard-worked,  and  often  flogged  by  their  relendess  master. 

WORSHIP    OF    ANCESTORS. 

As  we  shall  find  among  the  Chinese,  the  Indians  wor- 
shiped the  spirits  of  their  dead  ancestors.     As  among  the 


INDIAN  MEDICINE  MEN, 
Showing  the  hideous  costumes  and  decorations  they  sometimes  assume  in  their  incantations. 


THE   ' '  GREA  T  SPIRIT  "    OF  A  M ERICA. 


365 


Chinese,  the  periodical  offering  of  cakes,  hbations,  flesh 
or  viands  at  the  grave  to  ancestors,  is  seen  to  be  an  idea 
incorporated  into  the  practice  of  the  American,  at  least 
the  Algonic  Indians.  These  Indians,  believing  in  the 
twofold  nature  of  the  soul,  and  that  the  soul  sensorial 
•abides  for  a  time  with  the  body  in  the  grave,  requiring 
food  for  its  ghostly  existence  and  journeyings,  deposit 
meat  and  other  food  at  and  after  the  time  of  interment. 
This  custom  is  universal,  and  was  one  of  their  earliest 
traits. 

Few  things  in  savagfe  life  are  of  more  sincfular  interest 
Chan  the  ceremonies  of  a  burial.  Some  of  the  tribes, 
for  instance,  take  the  body  of  their  dead,  and  having 
clothed  it  in  the  best  robes  and  ornaments,  furnish  it 
with  many  articles  which  are  supposed  most  desirable, 
and,  wrapping  the  whole  carefully  in  soft,  wet  hides,  place 
::he  precious  burden  on  a  scaffold  several  feet  high.  In 
the  course  of  time,  the  scaffold  falls;  then  the  relatives  as- 
semble and  bury  the  remains,  except  the  skull ;  this  they 
place  on  the  ground,  where  there  are  perhaps  a  hundred 
skulls  in  a  circle,  all  looking  inward.  About  this  place  of 
skulls  the  women  are  often  seen,  sitting  with  their  work  for 
hours  at  a  time,  holding  in  their  laps  the  skull  of  a  dead 
child ;  and  not  unfrequently  they  are  seen  to  clasp  these 
skulls  in  their  arms  and  lie  down,  talking  as  if  to  a  living 
child,  until  they  fall  asleep. 

The  Sioux  Indians  wrap  their  dead  in  skins,  and  lodge 
them  in  the  branches  of  trees,  never  forgetting  to  place 
a  wooden  dish  near  the  head,  that  the  friend  may  quench 
his  thirst  in  the  long  journey  he  is  supposed  to  have 
begun. 

Among  the  Patagonians  the  dead  are  frequently  re- 
duced to  skeleton  before  burial,  and  are  washed  and 
arrayed  in  new  clothing  v'>n^c  a  year.     The  bodies,  while 


366 


ER/xOJi'S   CHAINS. 


being  prepared,  are  laid  on  platforms  and  guarded  by  the 
relatives,  who,  dressed  in  long  robes,  strike  the  ground 


continually  with  spears  or  staves,  and  keep  up  a  mournful 
sonc  to  drive  away  the  spirits,  who  they  fear  are  un- 
friendly to  the  dead. 


THE  "GREAT  SFIRIT"    OF  AMERICA. 


O^l 


The  Indians,  like  the  Africans,  worship  fetiches  or 
material  objects  in  which  either  the  gods 
personally  or  some  supernatural  power  is 
supposed  to  dwell.  It  not  infrequently  hap- 
pens that  if  an  Indian  dreams  of  an  idol  or 
fetich  of  a  certain  form,  when  he  wakes  he 
proceeds  to  make  it  according  to  the  pattern 
of  his  vision,  and  this  is  the  secret  history 
of  many  of  the  grotesque  forms  which  are 
favorite  symbols  with  them  in  their  sacred 
rites.     These  they  designate  Manitos. 

INDIAN    LEGENDS. 

The  Indians'  hopes,  fears,  worships,  and 
whole  faith  and  life  are  found  in  their  legends 
and  myths.  These  are  preserved  by  oral  tra-  indian  image 
dition,  by  being  handed  down  by  word  of 
mouth  from  generation  to  generation.  In 
the  leisure  from  hunting  or  war,  they  gather  In  the  lodge 
or  about  the  camp-fire  and  rehearse  these  stories.  As 
Lonijfellow  has  sunfj: 


Seen  in  a  dream 
and  made  by  a 
Medicine  Man. 


"Should  you  ask  me,  whence  these  stories? 
When'^e  these  legends  and  traditions, 
With  the  odors  of  the  forest. 
With  the  dew  and  damp  of  meadows. 
With  the  curling  smoke  of  wigwams. 
With  the  rushing  of  great  rivers. 
With  their  frequent  repetitions. 
And  their  wild  reverberations. 
As  of  thunder  in  the  mountains? 

I  should  answer,  I  should  tell  you, 
I  repeat  them  as  I  heard  them 
From  the  lips  of  Nawadaha. 

"Ye  whose  hearts  are  fresh  and  simple. 
Who  have  faith  in  God  and  Nature, 


-58  ERJiOR'S   CHAINS. 

Who  believe,  that  in  all  ages 

Every  human  heart  is  human, 

That  in  even  savage  bosoms 

There  are  longings,  yearnings,  strivings 

For  the  good  they  comprehend  not, 

That  the  feeble  hands  and  helpless. 

Groping  blindly  in  the  darkness, 

Touch  God's  right  hand  in  that  darkness 

And  are  lifted  up  and  strengthened." 

THE    "SONG    OF    HIAWATHA." 

Hiawatha  is  a  personage  of  miraculous  birth,  whom 
the  Indians  believed  to  have  been  sent  among  them  to 
clear  their  rivers,  forests  and  fishing-grounds,  and  to 
teach  them  the  arts  of  peace.  To  the  patient,  toilsome 
investigations  of  Dr.  H.  R.  Schoolcraft,  our  knowledge 
of  Indian  legends  is  due.  The  poet,  Longfellow,  has 
gracefully  woven  many  of  these  legends  together  in  his 
"Sonofof  Hiawatha." 

Hiawatha  is  regarded  as  the  messenger  of  the  Great 
Spirit,  sent  down  to  them  in  the  character  of  a  wise  man, 
and  a  prophet.  But  he  comes  clothed  with  all  the  attri- 
butes of  humanity,  as  well  as  the  power  of  performing 
miraculous  deeds.  He  adapts  himself  perfectly  to  their 
manners,  customs  and  ideas.  He  is  brought  up  from  a 
child  among  them.  He  is  made  to  learn  their  mode  of 
life.  He  takes  a  wife,  builds  a  lodee,  hunts  and  fishes 
like  the  rest  of  them,  sings  his  war  songs  and  medicine 
songs,  goes  to  war,  has  his  triumphs,  has  his  friends  and 
foes,  suffers,  wants,  hungers,  is  in  dread  or  joy;  and,  in 
fine,  undergoes  all  the  vicissitudes  of  his  fellows.  His 
miraculous  gifts  and  powers  are  always  adapted  to  his 
situation.  When  he  is  swallowed  by  a  great  fish,  with 
his  canoe,  he  escapes  by  the  exertion  of  these  powers, 
but   always,  as   much    as   possible,  in    accordance   with 


THE   ''GREAT  SPIRIT"    OF  AMERICA. 


369 


Indian  maxims  and  means.  He  is  provided  with  a  magic 
canoe,  which  goes  where  it  is  bid;  yet,  in  his  fight  with 
the  great  Wampura  prince,  he  is  counseled  by  a  wood- 
pecker to  know  where  the  vulnerable  point  of  his  antag- 
onist lies.  He  rids  the  earth  of  monsters  and  giants, 
and  clears  away  windfalls  and  obstructions  to  the  navi- 
gation of  streams.  But  he  does  not  do  these  feats  by 
miracles;  he  employs  strong  men  to  help  him.  When 
he  means  to  destroy  the  great  serpents,  he  changes  him- 
self into  an  old  tree,  and  stands  on  the  beach  till  they 
come  out  of  the  water  to  bask  in  the  sun.  Whatever 
man  could  do  in  streno^th  or  wisdom  he  could  do.  But 
he  never  does  things  above  the  comprehension  or  belief 
of  his  people;  and  whatever  else  he  is,  he  is  always  true 
to  the  character  of  an  Indian. 

He  leaps  over  extensive  regions  of  country,  like  an 
igjiis-fatiius,  the  false  light  caused  by  the  vapors  of  the 
swamp  which  misleads  the  traveler.  He  appears  sud- 
denly like  an  incarnation  of  a  god,  or  saunters  over 
weary  wastes  a  poor  and  starving  hunter.  His  voice  is 
at  one  moment  deep  and  sonorous  as  a  thunder-clap,  and 
at  another  clothed  with  the  softness  of  feminine  supplica- 
tion.   Such  is  the  character  of  whom  Lono;fellow  has  suno-. 

INDIAN    ALLEGORY    OF    WINTER   AND    SPRING. 

An  old  man  was  sitting  in  his  lodge,  by  the  side  of  a 
frozen  stream.  It  was  the  close  of  winter,  and  his  fire 
was  almost  out.  He  appeared  very  old  and  very  deso- 
late. His  locks  were  white  with  acfe,  and  he  trembled  in 
every  joint.  Day  after  day  he  passed  in  solitude,  and  he 
heard  nothing  but  the  sounds  of  the  tempest,  sweeping 
before  it  the  new-fallen  snow. 

One  day,  as  his  fire  was  just  dying,  a  handsome  young 
man  approached  and  entered  his  dwelling.  His  cheeks 
23 


170 


£J?JeO/?'S   CHAINS. 


were  red  with  the  blood  of  youth,  his  eyes  sparkled  with 
animation,  and  a  smile  played  upon  his  lips.  He  walked 
with  a  light  and  quick  step.  His  forehead  was  bound 
with  a  wreath  of  sweet  grass,  in  place  of  a  warrior's 
frontlet,  and  he  carried  a  bunch  of  flowers  in  his  hand. 

"  I  blow  my  breath,"  said  the  old  man,  "  and  the  streams 
stand  still.  The  water  becomes  stiff  and  hard  as  clear 
stone." 

"  I  breathe,"  said  the  young  man,  "  and  flowers  spring 
up  all  over  the  plains." 

"  I  shake  my  locks,"  retorted  the  old  man,  "  and  snow 
covers  the  land.  The  leaves  fall  from  the  trees  at  my 
command,  and  my  breath  blows  them  away.  The  birds 
get  up  from  the  water  and  fly  to  a  distant  land.  The 
animals  hide  themselves  from  my  breath,  and  the  very 
ground  becomes  as  hard  as  flint." 

"I  shake  my  ringlets,"  rejoined  the  young  man,  "and 
warm  showers  of  soft  rain  fall  upon  the  earth.  The 
plants  lift  up  their  heads  out  of  the  earth,  like  the  eyes 
of  children  glistening  with  delight.  My  voice  recalls  the 
birds.  The  warmth  of  my  breath  unlocks  the  streams. 
Music  fills  the  groves  wherever  I  walk,  and  all  nature 
rejoices." 

At  lenofth  the  sun  beran  to  rise.  A  gentle  warmth 
came  over  the  place.  The  tongue  of  the  old  man  be- 
came silent.  The  robin  and  bluebird  began  to  sing  on 
the  top  of  the  lodge.  The  stream  began  to  murmur  by 
the  door,  and  the  fragrance  of  growing  herbs  and  flowers 
came  softly  on  the  vernal  breeze. 

Daylight  fully  revealed  to  the  young  man  the  character 
of  his  entertainer.  When  he  looked  upon  him,  he  had 
the  icy  visage  of  Peboan.  Streams  began  to  flow  from 
his  eyes.  As  the  sun  increased,  he  grew  less  and  less 
in  stature,  and  anon  had  melted  completely  away.     No- 


THE  <' GREAT  SPIRIT''    OF  AMERICA.  --, 

thing  remained  on  the  place  of  his  lodge-fire  but  the  mis- 
kodeed,  a  small  white  flower,  wath  a  pink  border,  which 
is  one  of  the  earliest  species  of  northern  plants. 

ALASKA. 

The  Thlinkets,  an  Alaskan  tribe,  will  illustrate  the 
worship  of  the  Alaskans  generally.  Their  religion  is  a 
feeble  Polytheism.  Yehl  is  the  maker  of  wood  and 
waters.  He  put  the  sun,  moon  and  stars  in  their  places. 
He  lives  in  the  east,  near  the  head-waters  of  the  Naass 
River.  He  makes  himself  known  in  the  east  wind 
"Ssankheth,"  and  his  abode  is  "Nass-shak-yehl." 

At  that  time  the  sun,  moon  and  stars  were  kept  by  a 
rich  chief  in  separate  boxes,  which  he  allowed  no  one  to 
touch.  Yehl,  by  strategy,  secured  and  opened  these 
boxes,  so  that  the  moon  and  stars  shone  in  the  sky. 
When  the  sun-box  was  opened,  the  people,  astonished  at 
the  unwonted  glare,  ran  off  into  the  mountains,  woods, 
and  even  into  the  water,  becoming  animals  or  fish.  He 
also  provided  fire  and  water.  Having  arranged  every- 
thing for  the  comfort  of  the  Thlinkets,  he  disappeared 
where  neither  man  nor  spirit  can  penetrate. 

As  the  good  spirits,  from  the  very  nature  of  the  case, 
will  not  harm  them,  the  Alaskans  pay  but  little  attention 
to  them.  They  give  their  chief  attention  to  propitiating 
the  evil  spirits,  so  that  their  religion  practically  resolves 
itself  into  devil-worship  or  demonolatry.  This  is  called 
Shamanism,  or  the  giving  of  offerings  to  evil  spirits  to 
prevent  them  from  doing  mischief  to  the  offerer.  It  is 
said  to  have  been  the  old  religion  of  the  Tartar  race 
before  the  introduction  of  Buddhism,  and  is  still  that  of 
the  Siberians.  Indeed,  Paul  long  ago  declared,  "the 
things  which  the  Gentiles  sacrifice,  they  sacrifice  to 
devils  and  not  to  God  "     The  one  whose  office  It  Is  to 


^►7 2  ERROR'S   CHAIN'S. 

perform  these  rites  is  called  a  shaman,  and  is  the  sorcerer 
or  medicine-man  of  the  tribes.  The  shaman  has  control, 
not  only  of  the  spirits,  but,  through  the  spirits,  of  disease, 
of  the  elements,  and  of  nature;  he  holds  in  his  power 
success  or  misfortune,  blessing  or  cursing.  "The  honor," 
says  Dall,  "with  which  a  shaman  is  regarded  depends 
on  the  number  of  spirits  under  his  control,  who,  properly 
employed  contribute  largely  to  his  wealth." 

INDIAN    SUN-WORSHIP. 

We  are  informed  that  the  worship  of  the  sun  lies  at 
the  foundation  of  all  the  ancient  mythologies,  deeply 
enveloped  as  they  are,  when  followed  over  Asia  Minor 
and  Europe,  in  symbolic  and  linguistic  subtleties  and  re- 
finements. The  symbolic  fires  erected  on  temples  and 
altars  to  Baal,  Chemash  and  Moloch,  burned  brightly  in 
the  valley  of  the  Euphrates  long  before  the  pyramids  of 
Egypt  were  erected,  or  its  priestly-hoarded  hieroglyphic 
wisdom  resulted  in  a  phonetic  alphabet.  In  Persia  these 
altars  were  guarded  and  religiously  fed  by  a  consecrated 
body  of  magical  priesthood,  who  recognized  a  Deity  in 
the  essence  of  an  eternal  fire  and  a  world-pervading 
lidit. 

o 

The  same  dogma,  derived  apparently  from  the  east  and 
not  from  the  west,  through  Europe,  was  fully  installed  at 
Atacama  and  Cuzco,  in  Peru,  at  Cholulu,  on  the  magnif- 
icent and  volcano-lighted  peaks  of  Mexico,  and  along  the 
fertile  deltas  of  the  Mississippi  valley.  Altar-beds  for  a 
sacred  fire,  lit  to  the  Great  Spirit,  under  the  name  and 
symbolic  form  of  Cuzis,  or  the  sun,  where  the  frankin- 
cense of  the  nicotiana  was  offered,  with  hymns  and  genu- 
flections, have  been  discovered,  in  many  instances,  under 
the  earth-heaps  and  artificial  mounds  and  places  of 
sepulture  of  the  ancient  inhabitants.     Intelliorent  Indians 


AMAZONIAN  INDIA- 


4HIP1NG  THE  SUN. 


THE  "GREAT  SPIRIT"    OF  AMERICA.  -y- 

yet  living  among  the  North  American  tribes,  point  out 
the  symbol  of  the  sun,  in  their  ancient  muzzinabikons  or 
rock-inscriptions,  and  also  amid  the  ideographic  tracery 
and  bark-scrolls  of  the  hieratic,  or  priestly  inscriptions, 
and  of  the  magical  medicine-songs. 

AMAZON    SUN-WORSHIP. 

We  turn  away  to  the  savage  tribes  of  South  America 
and  find  many  of  the  forms  of  faith  and  worship  which 
we  have  seen  amono-  the  Northern  Indians  and  among- 
the  nations  of  the  Eastern  world  at  about  the  time  of  the 
dispersion  of  the  nations.  Thus  among  the  Amazon  In- 
dians of  Western  Brazil,  we  find  the  same  worship  of 
the  sun  that  we  have  seen  in  Egypt,  in  Assyria,  in  Japan, 
and  among  the  Indians  of  North  America.  A  traveler 
among  them  says :  "A  sound  fell  upon  our  ears  that  seemed 
to  issue  from  the  depths  of  a  distant  cavern.  We  could 
tell  it  to  be  a  chorus  of  voices,  chanting  some  sad  or  sol- 
emn refrain.  As  we  listened  it  grew  louder,  as  if  the 
chanters  were  drawing  nearer;  and  in  the  same  degree, 
it  was  becoming  more  joyful.  All  at  once  a  procession 
appeared  approaching  the  spot,  men  marching  two  and 
two,  with  files  of  women  intermingled. 

"As  its  head  emerged  from  amonsf  the  thick-standincr 

tree-trunks,    we    recognized   our  old   Zummate   friends, 

dressed  In  all  the  gala  of  a   grand  holiday,  with  plumed 

circlets  upon  their  heads,  feather  armlets,  and  garters  of 

i  the  same,  girt  just  below  the  knee. 

"On  reaching  the  malocca,  they  broke  ranks,  at  the 
same  time  bursting  into  peals  of  joyous  laughter.  Then 
surrounding  they  embraced  us,  the  chief  in  a  speech 
ao-ain  makinof  us  welcome  to  their  villao^e. 

"  We  soon  discovered  the  cause  of  their  absence  from 
home  with  all  these  mysterious  proceedings.     The  day 


2>7^ 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


was  a  grand  festival — a  religious  ceremony  annually  ob- 
served by  the  tribe,  when  every  man,  woman  and  child  go 
forth  into  the  woods,  to  worship  the  sun. 

"There,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Amazon,  and  amid  the 
mountains  of  Guiana,  is  found  the  same  ctdtey  observed 
by  the  ancient  Peruvians  in  the  days  of  Pizarro.  and  the 
Mexicans  before  Cortez  Christianized  them." 

THE    ARAUCANIANS. 

The  Araucanians,  in  the  north-western  part  of  South 
America,  believe  in  a  supreme  being,  and  in  many  sub- 
ordinate spirits,  good  and  bad.  They  believe  also  in 
omens  and  divinations,  but  they  have  neither  temples  nor 
idols,  nor  religious  rites;  and  discover  upon  the  whole 
so  little  aptitude  for  the  reception  of  religious  ideas  that 
the  Catholic  missionaries  that  have  settled  among  them 
have  had  very  little  success  in  imbuing  their  minds  with 
a  knowledge  of  Christianity.  They  believe  in  a  future 
state,  and  have  a  confused  tradition  respecting  a  deluge 
from  which  some  persons  were  saved  on  a  high  moun- 
tain ;  but  in  other  respects  religious  knowledge  is  lacking. 

PATAGONIA. 

The  religion  of  the  Patagonlan  is  a  Polytheism,  the 
natives  believing  that  there  are  great  numbers  of  deities, 
some  good  and  some  evil.  Each  family  is  under  the 
guardianship  of  one  of  the  good  deities,  and  all  the  mem- 
bers of  that  family  join  him  when  they  die.  Beside  these 
gods  there  are  subordinate  demons,  good  to  their  own 
friends,  but  bad  toward  all  others;  so  that,  on  the  whole, 
the  bad  predominates  in  them.  They  are  called  by  the 
name  of  Valichu. 

Yet,  among  some  of  the  Patagonlan  tribes,  there  is 
a  considerable  approach  to  personal  religion.    It  has  been 


THE   "GREAT  SPIRIT''    OF  AMERICA. 


379 


thought  with  some  reason  that  they  are  totally  destitute  of 
religion.  This,  however,  is  certainly  not  the  case,  as  even 
our  limited  knowledge  of  these  people,  their  language 
and  their  habits  show  that,  even  though  they  may  not 
possess  any  definite  system  of  worship,  they  are  still  im- 
pressed with  the  idea  of  some  Being  infinitely  greater 
than  themselves,  who  knows  everything  that  they  do. 
Thus  they  believe  in  an  omniscient  Being ;  and  such  a 
belief  as  this,  limited  and  imperfect  though  it  may  be,  is 
yet  a  step  in  the  right  direction. 

To  this  unknown  Being  they  return  thanks  for  a  sup- 
ply of  food  after  a  long  famine  ;  so  that  we  find  them 
acknowledorinor  that  the  ereat  Beingr  who  knows  all  their 
deeds,  watches  over  them  and  is  the  giver  of  all  good 
things.  When,  for  example,  they  have  procured  a  seal, 
after  having  been  half  starved  for  months,  they  assemble 
round  a  fire,  and  the  oldest  man  present  cuts  for  each 
person  a  piece  of  the  seal,  uttering  over  each  portion  a 
sort  of  prayer,  and  looking  upward  in  devotion  to  the 
unseen  God  who  had  sent  them  meat  in  their  need. 
Undisciplined  as  are  the  Patagonians,  totally  unaccus- 
tomed to  self-denial  and  mad  with  hunger,  not  one  of 
them  will  touch  the  food  until  this  invocation  has  been 
repeated.     Thus  they  show  a  devout  spirit. 

THE    AZTECS. 

The  religion  of  the  Mexicans  breathed  a  savage  spirit, 
which  degraded  them,  in  a  moral  point  of  view,  far  below 
the  hordes  of  wandering  Indians.  Their  deities,  repre- 
sented by  misshapen  images  of  serpents  and  other 
hideous  animals,  were  the  creation  of  the  darkest  passions 
of  the  human  breast — of  terror,  hatred,  cruelty  and  re- 
venge. They  delighted  in  blood,  and  thousands  of 
human  sacrifices  were  annually  offered  at  their  shrines. 


;8o 


EI^ROR'S   CHAINS. 


The  places  of  worship,  called  Teocallls,  were  pyramids 
composed  of  terraces  placed  one  above  another,  like  the 
temple  of  Belus  at  Babylon.     These  were  built  of  clay, 


ANCIENT  AZTEC  IDOL. 


or  of  alternate  layers  of  clay  and  unburnt  bricks,  but.  In 
some  cases,  faced  with  slabs  of  polished  stone,  on  which 
figures  of  animals  were  sculptured  in  relief.  One  or  two 
small  chapels  stood  upon  the  summit,  inclosing  images 


THE   ''GREAT  SPIRIT''    OF  AMERICA.  -^gj 

of  the  deity.  The  largest  known  Teocalli  contains  four 
stories  or  terraces,  and  has  a  breadth  of  480  yards  at 
the  base  and  a  height  of  55  yards.  These  structures 
served  as  temples,  tombs  and  observatories. 

The  Aztecs  believed  in  one  supreme,  invisible  creator 
of  all  things,  the  ruler  of  the  universe,  named  Taotl — a 
belief,  it  is  conjectured,  not  native  to  them,  but  derived 
from  their  predecessors,  the  Taoltecs.  Under  this  su- 
preme being  stood  thirteen  chief  and  two  hundred  inferior 
deities,  each  of  whom  had  his  sacred  day  and  festival.  At 
their  head  was  the  patron  god  of  the  Aztecs,  the  frightful 
Huitzilopochtli,  the  Mexican  Maj^s.  His  temples  were 
the  most  splendid  and  imposing.  In  every  city  of  the 
empire  his  altars  were  drenched  with  the  blood  of  human 
sacrifice.  Cortez  and  his  companions  were  permitted  by 
Montezuma  to  enter  his  temple  in  the  city  of  Mexico,  and 
to  behold  the  god  himself.  He  had  a  broad  face,  wide 
mouth  and  terrible  eyes.  He  was  covered  with  gold, 
pearls  and  precious  stones,  and  was  girt  about  with 
golden  serpents.  On  his  neck,  a  fitting  ornament,  were 
the  faces  of  men  wrought  in  silver,  and  their  hearts  in 
gold.  Close  by  were  braziers  with  incense,  and  on  the 
braziers  three  real  hearts  of  men  who  had  that  day  been 
sacrificed.  The  smell  of  the  place,  we  are  told,  was  like 
that  of  a  slaughter-house. 

To  supply  victims  for  the  sacrifices,  the  emperors  made 
war  on  all  the  neighboring  and  subsidiary  States,  or  in 
case  of  revolt,  in  any  city  of  their  dominions,  and  levied  a 
certain  number  of  men,  women  and  children  by  way  of 
indemnity.  The  victims  were  borne  in  triumphal  proces- 
sions and  to  the  sound  of  music,  to  the  summit  of  the 
great  temples,  where  the  priests,  in  sight  of  assembled 
crowds,  bound  them  to  the  sacrificial  stone,  and  opening 
the  breast  tore  from  it  the  bleedino"  heart  which   was 


-.82  EJiKOJi'S   CHAINS. 

either  laid  before  the  image  of  the  gods,  or  eaten  by  the 
worshipers,  after  having  been  carefully  cut  up  and  mixed 
with  maize.  In  the  years  immediately  preceding  the 
Spanish  conquest,  not  less  than  20,000  victims  were  an- 
nually immolated. 

These  atrocities  were  sometimes,  though  incongruously, 
blended  with  milder  forms  of  worship,  in  which  fruits, 
flowers  and  perfumes  were  offered  up  amid  joyous  out- 
bursts of  song  and  dance.  According  to  their  mythology, 
Taotl,  who  delighted  in  these  purer  sacrifices,  had  once 
reigned  in  Anahuac  (a  name  which  at  first  probably  ap- 
plied only  to  the  country  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the 
capital,  though  afterward  it  was  applied  to  the  whole 
Aztec  empire)  in  the  golden  age  of  the  world  but  being 
obliged,  from  some  unexplained  cause,  to  retire  from 
earth,  he  departed  by  way  of  the  Mexican  Gulf,  promis- 
inof  to  return. 

This  wide-spread  tradition  accelerated  the  success  of  the 
Spaniards,  whose  light  skins  and  long  dark  hair  and 
beards  were  regarded  as  evidences  of  their  affinity  with 
the  long-looked-for  divinity.  The  Mexican  priesthood 
formed  a  rich  and  powerful  order  of  the  State  and  were 
so  numerous  that  Cortez  found  as  many  as  5,000  attached 
to  the  temple  of  Mexico.  The  education  of  the  young 
of  both  sexes  remained,  till  the  age  of  puberty,  In  the  hands 
of  the  priests  and  priestesses,  and  the  sacerdotal  class 
were  thus  able  to  exercise  a  widely-diffused  influence, 
which,  under  the  later  rulers,  was  almost  equal  to  that  of 
the  emperor  himself.  The  women  shared  in  all  the  oc- 
cupations of  the  men,  and  were  taught,  like  them,  the 
arts  of  reading,  writing,  ciphering,  singing  in  chorus, 
dancing,  etc.,  and  they  were  even  initiated  into  the  secrets 
of  astronomy  and  astrology.  These  facts  indicate  a  civil- 
ization far  above  that  of  many  other  nations  and  tribes. 


THE   '■'GREAT  SPIRIT"    OF  AMERICA.  ^g-, 


SUN-WORSHIP  AMONG  THE  PERUVIANS. 
THE    INCAS. 

The  government  of  Peru  was  a  theocracy.     The  Inca 
was  at  once  the  temporal  sovereign  and  the  supreme 


384 


ERROR'S  CHAINS. 


pontiff.  He  was  regarded  as  the  descendant  and  repre- 
sentative of  the  great  deity,  the  sun,  who  was  supposed 
to  inspire  his  counsels,  and  speak  through  his  orders  and 
decrees.  Hence  even  sHght  offenses  were  punished  with 
death,  because  they  were  regarded  as  insults  offered  to 
the  divinity.  The  race  of  the  Incas  was  held  sacred. 
To  support  its  pretensions,  it  was  very  desirable  that  it 
should  be  kept  pure  and  distinct  from  the  people;  but 
kuman  passions  are  often  too  strong  for  the  dictates  of 
policy ;  and  though  the  marriages  of  the  family  were  con- 
fined to  their  own  race,  the  emperor,  as  well  as  the  other 
males  of  the  blood  royal,  kept  large  harems  stocked  with 
beauties  drawn  from  all  parts  of  the  empire,  and  multi- 
plied a  spurious  progeny,  in  whom  the  blood  of  the 
"children  of  the  sun"  was  blended  with  that  of  the 
"children  of  the  earth."  Among  a  simple-minded  and 
credulous  people  the  claims  of  the  Incas  to  a  celestial 
origin  seem  to  have  been  implicitly  believed.  They  were 
blindly  obeyed,  and  treated  with  a  respect  bordering  on 
adoration,  by  the  nobles  and  the  common  people. 

The  Peruvians  worshiped  the  sun,  moon,  the  evening 
star,  the  spirit  of  thunder  and  the  rainbow,  and  had 
erected  temples  in  Cuzco  to  all  these  deities.  That  of 
the  sun,  which  was  the  most  magnificent,  had  its  walls 
covered  with  plates  of  pure  gold.  The  sacrifices  con- 
sisted of  the  objects  most  prized  by  the  people — of  grain, 
and  of  fruits,  of  a  few  animals,  and  of  the  productions  of 
their  own  industry.  Sun-worship,  as  it  is  the  most 
rational  of  all  forms  of  idolatry,  is  also  generally  the 
most  mild ;  and  doubtless  this  results  from  the  tendency 
which  it  has  to  fix  the  thoughts  on  the  marks  of  benefi- 
cence  and  wisdom  which  are  displayed  in  the  works 
of  nature.  The  Peruvian  temples  were  accordingly 
never  polluted,  like  those  of  Mexico,  with  the  blood  of 


THE   ^^ GREAT  SPIRIT''    OF  AMERICA. 


585 


human  victims;  and  the  Incas  even  went  farther,  and 
signaHzed  their  zeal  against  such  horrid  rites,  by  sup- 
pressing them  In  all  the  countries  they  conquered. 


£^nT!:!l';iii!;ii"i!;i!iii;T:ii!iii!i;!l'li!i!„„, 


The  temple  of  the  Sun  at  Cuzco,  called  Coricancha  or 
Place  of  Gold,"  was  the  most  magnificent  edifice  in  the 


386  ERROK'S   CHAINS. 

empire.  On  the  western  wall,  and  opposite  the  eastern 
portal,  was  a  splendid  representation  of  the  sun,  the  god 
of  the  nation.  It  consisted  of  a  human  face  in  gold,  with 
innumerable  golden  rays  emanating  from  it  in  every 
direction ;  and  when  the  early  beams  of  the  morning  sun 
fell  upon  this  brilliant  golden  disc,  they  were  reflected 
from  it  as  from  a  mirror,  and  acrain  reflected  throuorhout 
the  whole  temple  by  the  numberless  plates,  cornices, 
bands  and  images  of  gold,  until  the  tem.ple  seemed  to 
glow  with  a  sunshine  more  intense  and  glorious  than  that 
of  nature. 


IDOLATRY  IN   OCEAKICA.  ^Sy 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE     ISLANDS     OF     THE     SEAS. 

I  believe  that  the  ignorance  which  has  prevailed  regarding  the 
mythological  systems  of  barbarous  or  semi-barbarous  races  has  too 
generally  led  to  their  being  considered  far  grander  and  more  reason- 
able than  they  really  were.— W.  Von  Humboldt. 

OCEANICA  is  one  of  the  five  great  divisions  of 
the  globe.     It  embraces  all  the  islands  lying  in 
the    Pacific    Ocean    between    the    south-eastern 
shores  of  Asia  and  the  western  shores  of  America. 

The  people  may  be  divided  into  two  classes;  the  one 
called  the  Papuans,  the  other  the  Malayo-Polynesians. 
The  first  resemble  the  African  Negroes,  having  a  black 
skin,  and  crisp  (Papua  means  "  crisp")  and  woolly  hair, 
broad  noses,  receding  chins  and  foreheads  and  thick,  pro- 
truding lips.  These  Oceanica  Negroes  live  mainly  in  New 
Guinea.  They  are  also  found  in  the  woods  and  mountain 
fastnesses  of  some  other  islands.  They  seemed  destined 
to  be  utterly  destroyed  in  the  struggle  with  new-coming 
races.  The  second,  the  Malayo-Polynesians,  are  the  brown 
or  copper-colored  race  of  Oceanica.  They  gready  re- 
semble the  Arabs  in  character,  customs  and  appearance. 
They  are  half-civilized,  while  the  Papuans  are  barbarous. 
They  overspread  almost  the  whole  of  the  southern 
Pacific  Islands.  They  readily  responded  to  the  religious 
teachings  and  civilizing  influences  of  Asia.  In  Java  es- 
pecially they  became  almost  a  reproduction  of  the  people 
of  India,  in  their  religion,  language  and  habits. 


38J 


ERROJiS   CHAINS. 


THE    DEPRAVED    CONDITION    OF   THE    PAPUANS. 

The  religious  condition  of  the  Papuans  is  very  low. 
They  resemble  somewhat  the  American  Indians  and  the 
lower  African  peoples  in  their  faith  and  worship.    The  idea 


3   g.S 

C     U     c3 


1%  a 


2  S  -p 


of  God  has  almost  vanished  from  their  minds.  They  re- 
cognize, indeed,  not  a  moral  Ruler,  but  a  great  awe-in- 
spiring and  mysterious  power.     Their  whole  worship  is 


IDOLATRY  IN   OCEANICA. 


389 


^v 


a  mere  attempt  at  propitiating  the  angry  and  malignant 
gods  and  evil  spirits.  There  are  no  shrines  or  temples, 
no    priests,    no    sacred  ^     .^aiiiA 

books.  They  make/^/-  ^^  S^0ii^fMM 
idles  of  pieces  of  sculp- 
ture, a  snake,  a  lizard,  a  ^^^^*5 
bit  of  bone  or  some- 
times an  image  of  a 
man.  This  last  is  called 
a  km"war  and  is  found 
in  almost  every  hut,  and 
answers  the  purpose  of 
an  oracle  and  idol.  In 
consulting  it,  they  squat 
before  it,  clasp  their 
hands  over  the  forehead, 
bow  repeatedly,  at  the 
same  time  stating  their 
intentions.  If  they  are 
seized  with  any  nervous 
feeling,  it  is  considered  a  bad  sign.  If  they  feel  hopeful, 
the  idol  is  supposed  to  approve.  It  is  deemed  necessary 
that  a  karwar  "sX-iovXA  be  present  on  all  important  occasions. 


/f* 


TATTOOED  GIRL  OF  OCEANICA. 


THE    PAGAN    POLYNESIANS. 

We  see  in  the  Malayo-Polynesians  a  reproduction  of 
the  worship  of  the  Aztecs  of  Mexico.  Together  with 
some  knowledge  of  arts  and  civilization,  the  most  savage 
atrocities  exist — infanticide,  human  sacrifices,  the  choking 
to  death  of  whole  families  in  honor  of  some  fallen  chief, 
brutish  feasts  upon  the  bodies  of  their  foes  and  even  of 
their  fellow-subjects. 

The  chief  god  is  called  Ndeiigei.  Besides  him  there  is 
a  host  of  good  and  evil  gods,  who  are  always  warring  in 
24 


390 


E JUROR'S   CHAINS. 


the  attempt  to  help  or  to  hurt  mankind.  One  of  these 
gods  of  the  infernal  regions  is  said  to  sit  upon  the  brink  of 
*^  a  huge  fiery  cave, 

into  which  he 
casts  the  spirits 
of  the  dead.  An- 
other, the  one- 
toothed  Lord,  is 
described  as  liv- 
f^^  ing  in  the  figure 
man,  with 
wings  instead  of 
arms,  and  claws 
mstead  of  fin- 
oers,  to  snatch 
his  victims.  His 
tooth  is  so  large 
that  it  reaches 
above  his  head, 
and  he  throws 
out  sparks  of 
fire  as  he  flies 
through  the  air. 

Among  this 
people  there  is  a 
^H.  pnesthood,  and 
their  temples,  or 
"spirit-houses," 
are  called  Mbure. 
POLYNESIAN  IDOL  AND  ITS  DEVOTEES.  Thevarc  exceed- 

ingly devout  in  their  way  and  superstitious.  Their  re- 
ligious ideas  enter  into  their  every-day  life.  They  have 
some  interesting  traditions,  from  which  a  few  selections 
may  be  used  as  illustrative  of  the  whole. 


IDOLATRY  IN  OCEANIC  A. 


391 


TRADITIONARY   ORIGIN    OF    HUMAN    PRIESTHOOD. 

The  gods  first  spake  to  man  through  the  small  land- 
birds;  but  their  utterances  were  too  indistinct  to  guide 
the  actions  of  mankind.  To  meet  this  emergency,  an 
order  of  priests  was  set  apart,  the  gods  actually  taking 
up  their  abode,  for  the  time  being,  in  their  sacred  per- 
sons. Priests  were  significantly  named  "god-boxes" 
(pia-atna),  generally  abbreviated  to  "gods,"  i.  e.,  living 
embodiments  of  these  divinities.     Temples  were  natu- 


A  FIJIAN  BURE  TEMPLE. 

rally  conjoined  with  priesthood,  but  they  were  usually  of 
the  rudest  and  simplest  sort.. 

Whenever  consulted,  a  present  of  the  best  food,  ac- 
companied with  a  bowl  of  intoxicating  "  piper  mythisti- 
cum,"  was  indispensible.  The  priest,  throwing  himself 
into  a  frenzy,  delivered  a  response  in  language  intelligible 
only  to  the  initiated.  A  favorite  subject  of  inquiry  was 
"the  sin  why  so-and-so  was  ill ;"  no  one  being  supposed 
to  die  a  natural  death  unless  decrepit  with  extreme  old 


392 


ERf!OR'S   CHAINS. 


age.  If  a  priest  cherished  a  spite  against  anybody,  he 
had  only  to  declare  It  to  be  the  will  of  the  divinity  that 
the  victim  should  be  put  to  death,  or  be  laid  on  the  altar 
for  some  offense  against  the  gods.  The  best  kinds  of 
food  were  sacred  to  the  priests  and  chiefs  and  they  were 
never  slow  to  make  use  of  it. 

Although  unsulted  for  the  delivery  of  oracles,  birds 
were  ever  regarded  as  the  special  messengers  of  the 
gods  to  warn  individuals  of  impending  danger,  each  tribe 
having  its  own  feathered  guardians. 

POLYNESIAN    NOTION    OF    THE    SUN    AND    MOON. 

A  curious  myth  obtained  in  the  now  almost  extinct 
Toncran  tribe  relative  to  the  origin  of  the  sun  and  moon. 
Vatea  and  Tonga-Ita  quarreled  respecting  the  parentage 
of  the  first  born  of  Papa,  each  claiming  the 
child  as  his  own.  At  last  the  child  was  cut 
in  two.  Vatea,  the  husband  of  Papa,  took 
the  upper  part  as  his  share,  and  forthwith 
squeezed  it  into  a  ball  and  tossed  it  into 
the  heavens,  where  it  became  the  sun. 

Tonga-ita  sullenly  allowed  his  share,  the 
lower  half,  to  remain  a  day  or  two  on  the 
o^round.      Seeino-  the  briohtness  of  Vatea's 
half,  he  resolved  to  imitate  his  example  by 
IDOL  OF  SOUTH  compressing  his  share  into  a  ball,  and  toss- 
sEA  ISLANDS,    jj^g,  j^.  Jj^|-q  ^|^g  dark  sky  during  the  absence 

of  the  sun  in  Avaiki,  or  nether-world.  Thus  originated 
the  moon,  whose  paleness  is  attributed  to  the  blood  hav- 
ing all  drained  out  of  the  body  as  it  lay  so  long  on  the 
ground  and  to  decomposition  having  commenced. 

They  believed  that  men  could  become  gods.  ManI,  by 
his  mighty  prowess,  entered  the  rank  of  the  gods,  and  his 
example  could  be  followed  by  others. 


IDOLATRY  IN  OCEANIC  A. 


393 


TRADITION    OF    MANI  S    SECURING   THE    FIRE-GOD  S    SECRET. 

One  of  the  most  peculiar  traditions  of  Oceanica  is  this: 
To  Ru  and  Buataranga  was  born  a  famous  son,  Mani. 
At  an  early  age,  Mani  was  appointed  one  of  the  guar- 
dians of  this  upper  world  where  mortals  live.  Like  the 
rest  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  world,  he  subsisted  on  un- 
cooked food.  The  mother,  Buataranga,  occasionally 
visited  her  son,  but  always  ate  her  food  apart,  out  of  a 
basket  brought  with  her  from  nether-land.  One  day, 
when  she  was  asleep,  Mani  peeped  into  her  basket,  and 
discovered  cooked  food.  Upon 
tasting  it,  he  was  decidedly  of 
opinion  that  it  was  a  great  im- 
provement upon  the  raw  diet 
to  which  he  was  accustomed. 
This  food  came  from  nether- 
world ;  it  was  evident  that  the 
secret  of  fire  was  there.  To 
nether-world,  the  home  of  his 
parents,  he  would  descend  to 
gain  this  knowledge,  so  that 
ever  after  he  might  enjoy  the 
luxury  of  cooked  food. 

On  the  following  day  Buata- 
ranofa  was  about  to  descend  to 
Avaiki  (nether-world),  when 
Mani  followed  her  through  the 
bush  without  her  knowing  it. 
This  was  no  difficult  task,  as  she  always  came  and  re- 
turned by  the  same  road.  Peering  through  the  tall  reeds, 
he  saw  his  mother  standing  within  easy  hearing  distance 
of  him  and  directly  opposite  a  black  rock,  which  she  ad- 
dressed as  follows : 


GREAT  mOL  OF  OCEANICA, 
Six  feet  in  Height. 


394 


ERROR'S  CHAINS. 


"  Buataranga,  descend  thou  boldly  through  this  chasm, 
The  rainbow-like  must  be  obeyed  ; 
As  two  dark  clouds  parting  at  dawn, 
Open,  open  up  my  road  to  nether-world,  ye  fierce  ones." 

At  these  words,  the  rock  divided,  and  Buataranga  de- 
scended. Mani  carefully  treasured  up  these  magic  words, 
and  without  delay  started  off  to  see  the  god  Tane,  the 
owner  of  some  wonderful  pigeons.  He  earnestly  begged 
Tane  to  lend  him  one;  but  the  proffered  pigeon  not 
pleasing  Mani,  was  at  once  returned  to  its  owner.  A 
better  pigeon  was  offered  to  the  fastidious  borrower,  but 
was  rejected.  Nothing  would  content  Mani  but  the  pos- 
session of  Akaotu,  or  Fearless,  a  red  pigeon,  specially 
prized  by  Tane,  It  was  so  tame  that  it  knew  its  name  ; 
and,  wander  wherever  it  might,  it  was  sure  to  return  to 
its  master.  Tane,  who  was  loth  to  part  with  his  pet,  ex- 
tracted a  promise  from  Mani  that 
the  pigeon  should  be  restored  to 
him  uninjured.  Mani  now  set 
off  in  high  spirits,  carrying  with 
him  his  red  pigeon,  to  the  place 
where  his  mother  had  descended. 
Upon  pronouncing  the  magic 
words  which  he  had  overheard, 
to  his  great  delight,  the  rock 
opened,  and  Mani,  entering  the 
pigeon,  descended.  Some  assert 
that  Mani  transformed  himself 
into  a  small  dragon-fly,  and, 
perched  upon  the  back  of  the 
pigeon,  made  his  descent.  The  two  fierce  guardian  de- 
mons of  the  chasm,  enraged  at  finding  themselves  im- 
posed upon  by  a  stranger,  made  a  grab  at  the  pigeon, 
intending  to  devour  it.      Fortunately,  however,  for  the 


HAWAIIAN  IDOL, 
KNOWN  AS  THE  POISON  GOD 


IDOLATRY  IN   OCEANICA. 


395 


borrower,  they  only  succeeded  in  getting  possession  of 
the  tail,  whiFst  the  pigeon,  minus  its  beautiful  tail,  pursued 
its  flight  to  the  shades.  Mani  was  grieved  at  the  mishap 
which  had  overtaken  the  pet  bird  of  his  friend  Tane. 

Arrived  at  nether-land,  Mani  sought  for  the  home  of 
his  mother.  It  was  the  first  house  he  saw ;  he  was  guided 
to  it  by  the  sound  of  her  clothflail.  The  red  pigeon 
alighted  on  an  ovenhouse  opposite  to  the  shed  where 
Buataranga  was  beating  out  cloth.  She  stopped  her 
work  to  gaze  at  the  red  pigeon,  which  she  guessed  to  be 
a  visitor  from  the  upper  world,  as  none  of  the  pigeons 
in  the  shades  were  red.  Buataranga  said  to  the  bird, 
"Are  you  not  come  from  daylight?"  The  pigeon  nodded 
assent.  "Are  you  not  my  son,  Mani  ?"  inquired  the  old 
woman.  Again  the  pigeon  nodded.  At  this  Buataranga 
entered  her  dwellino;  .and  the  bird  flew  to  a  bread-fruit 
tree.  Mani  resumed  his  proper  human  form,  and  went 
to  embrace  his  mother,  who  inquired  how  he  had  de- 
scended to  nether-world,  and  the  object  of 
his  visit.  Mani  avowed  that  he  had  come  to 
learn  the  secret  of  fire.  Buataranga  said, 
"This  secret  rests  with  the  fire-god,  Manike. 
When  I  wish  to  cook  an  oven,  I  ask  your  father 
Ru  to  beg  a  lighted  stick  from  Manike." 
Mani  inquired  where  the  fire-god  lived.  Hi 
mother  pointed  out  the  direction,  and  said  it  was 
called  Are-aoa — house-of-banyan-sticks.  She 
entreated  Mani  to  be  careful,  "for  the  fire-god 
is  a  terrible  fellow,  of  a  very  irritable  temper." 

Mani  now  walked  up  boldly  toward  the 
house  of  the  fire-god,  guided  by  the  curling 
column  of  smoke.  Manike,  who  happened  at  the  moment 
to  be  cooking  an  oven  of  food,  stopped  his  work  and 
demanded  what  the  stranger  wanted.     Mani  replied,  "A 


IDOL  FROM 
POLYNESIA 


396 


£/?/?OJ?'S   CHAINS. 


fire-brand."  The  fire-brand  was  given.  Mani  carried 
it  to  a  stream  running  past  the  bread-fruit  tree  and 
there  extinguished  it.  He  now  returned  to  Manike 
and  obtained  a  second  fire-brand,  which  he  also  extin- 
guished in  the  stream.  A  third  time  a  hghted  stick  was 
demanded  of  the  fire-god.  He  was  beside  himself  with 
rage.  Raking  the  ashes  of  his  oven,  he  gave  the  daring 
Mani  some  of  them  on  a  piece  of  dry  wood.  These 
live  coals  were  thrown  into  the  stream  as  the  former 
lighted  sticks  had  been. 

Mani  correcdy  thought  that  a  fire-brand  would  be  of 
little  use,  unless  he  could  obtain  the  secret  of  fire.  The 
brand  would  eventually  go  out;  but  Jiozv  to  reproduce  the 
fire?  His  object,  therefore,  was  to  pick  a  quarrel  with  the 
fire-god,  and  compel  him,  by  sheer  violence,  to  yield  up 
the  invaluable  secret,  as  yet  known  to  none  but  himself. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  fire-god,  confident  in  his  own  pro- 
digious strength,  resolved  to  destroy  this  insolent  in- 
truder into  his  secret.  Mani,  for  the  fourth  time,  de- 
manded fire  of  the  enraged  eod.  Manike  ordered  him 
away,  under  pain  of  being  tossed  into  the  air ;  for  Mani 
was  small  of  stature.  But  the  visitor  said  he  should 
enjoy  nothing  better  than  a  trial  of  strength  with  the 
fire-god.  Manike  entered  his  dwelling  to  put  on  his  war- 
girdle  (ume  i-tono  maro);  but  on  returning,  found  that 
Mani  had  swelled  himself  to  an  enormous  size.  Nothino- 
daunted  at  this,  Manike  boldly  seized  him  with  both  hands 
and  hurled  him  to  the  height  of  a  cocoanut  tree.  Mani 
contrived,  in  falling,  to  make  himself  so  light  that  he  was 
in  no  degree  hurt  by  his  adventure.  Manike,  maddened 
that  his  adversary  should  yet  breathe,  exerted  his  full 
strength,  and  next  time  hurled  him  far  higher  than  the 
hiorhest  cocoanut  tree  that  ever  ofrew.  Yet  Mani  was  un- 
hurt  by  his  fall,  whilst  the  fire-god  lay  panting  for  breath. 


IDOLATRY  IN  OCEANICA. 


397 


It  was  now  Mani's  turn.  Seizing  the  fire-god,  he 
threw  him  up  to  a  dizzy  height,  and  caught  him  again  Hke 
a  ball  with  his  hands.  Without  allowing  Manike  to  touch 
the  ground,  he  threw  him  a  second  time  into  the  air,  and 
caug^ht  him  in  his  hands.  Assured  that  this  was  but  a 
preparation  for  a  final  toss,  which  should  seal  his  fate,  the 
panting  and  thoroughly  exhausted  Manike  entreated 
Mani  to  stop  and  spare  his  life.  Whatever  Mani  desired 
Manike  promised  should  be  his. 

The  fire-god,  now  in  a  misera- 
ble plight,  was  allowed  to  breathe 
awhile.  Mani  said:  "Only  on 
one  condition  will  I  spare  you — 
tell  me  the  secret  of  fire.  Where 
is  it  hidden  ?  How  is  it  pro- 
duced?" Manike  gladly  prom- 
ised to  tell  him  all  he  knew,  and 
led  him  inside  his  wonderful 
dwellincr.  In  one  corner  there  was 
a  quantity  of  fine  cocoanut-fibre  ; 
in  another,  bundles  of  fire-yield- 
ing sticks — the  "^?/,"  the  "oron- 
ga,"  the  "  tauiim','  and  particu- 
larly the  '' aoa,''  or  banyan  tree. 
These  sticks  were  all  dry  and  ready  for  use.  In  the 
middle  of  the  room  were  two  smaller  sticks  by  themselves. 
One  of  these  the  fire-god  gave  to  Mani,  desirino-  him  to 
hold  it  firmly,  while  he  himself  plied  the  other  most  vigor- 
ously, uttering  as  he  did  it  the  following  song: 


NEW  ZEALAND  MOON-GOD. 


THE    FIRE-GOD  S    SONG. 


Grant,  oh,  grant  me  thy  hidden  fire, 

Thou  banyan  tree  !' 
Perform  an  incantation ; 


^g3  ERROI^S  CHAINS. 

Utter  a  prayer  to  (the  spirit  of) 
The  banyan  tree  ! 

Kindle  a  fire  for  Manike 

Of  the  dust  of  the  banyan  tree  ! 

By  the  time  this  song  was  completed  ManI,  to  his 
great  joy,  perceived  a  faint  smoke  arising  out  of  the  fine 
dust  produced  by  the  friction  of  one  stick  upon  another. 
As  they  persevered  in  their  work  the  smoke  increased, 
and,  favored  witli  the  fire-god's  breath,  a  shght  flame 
arose,  when  the  fine  cocoanut  fibre  was  cahed  into  requi- 
sition, to  catch  and  increase  the  flame.  Manike  now 
called  to  his  aid  the  different  bundles  of  sticks,  and 
speedily  got  up  a  blazing  fire,  to  the  astonishment  and 
great  delight  of  Mani. 

The  o-rand  secret  of  fire  was  thus  secured.  But  the 
victor  resolved  to  be  revenged  for  his  trouble  and  his 
tossing  in  the  air,  by  setting  fire  to  his  fallen  adversary's 
abode.  In  a  short  time  all  nether-world  was  in  flames, 
which  consumed  the  fire-god  and  all  he  possessed.  Even 
the  rocks  cracked  and  split  with  the  heat;  hence  the  an- 
cient saying  in  that  land,  "  The  rocks  ot  Orovaru  (in  the 
shades)  are  burning." 

Ere  leaving  the  land  of  ghosts,  Man!  carefully  picked 
up  the  two  fire-sticks,  once  the  property  of  Manike,  and 
hastened  to  the  bread-fruit  tree,  where  the  red  pigeon, 
"Fearless,"  quietly  awaited  his  return.  His  first  care 
was  to  restore  the  tail  of  the  bird,  so  as  to  avoid  the 
anger  of  Tane.  There  was  no  time  to  be  lost,  for  the 
flames  were  rapidly  spreading.  He  re-entered  the 
pigeon,  which  carried  his  fire  sticks  one  in  each  claw,  and 
flew  to  the  lower  entrance  of  the  chasm.  Once  more 
pronouncing  the  words  he  learnt  from  Buataranga,  the 
rocks  parted,  and  he  safely  got  back  to  this  upper  world. 


IDOLATRY  IN  OCEANICA.  -gg 

Through  the  good  offices  of  his  mother,  the  pigeon  met 
with  no  opposition  from  the  fierce  guardians  of  the  road  to 
the  shades.  On  again  enter- 
ing into  Hght  the  red  pigeon 
took  a  long  sweep,  ahghting, 
eventually,  in  a  lovely,  se- 
cluded valley,  which  was 
thenceforth  named  Rupe-tau, 
or  the  pigeon  s  resting-place. 
Mani  now  resumed  his  origi- 
nal human  form,  and  has- 
tened to  carry  back  the  pet  ^^^^ 
bird  to  his  friend,  Tane. 

Passino-  through  the  main 
valley  of  Keia,  he  found  that 
the  flames  had  preceded  him, 
and  had  found  an  aperture  at 
Teava,  since  closed  up.    The 

'  ^  -^  .  HAWAIIAN  WAR-GOD, 

kings        Rangi     and       MokoirO  covered  with  red  feathers,  having  seal-s 

,   1       1    P  1       •      1  ^       r         '  teeth  and  eyes  of  pearl. 

trembled  lor  their  land;  lor  it 

seemed  as  if  everything  would  e  destroyed  by  the  de- 
vourinof  flames.  To  save  Man^aia  from  utter  destruc- 
tion,  they  exerted  themselves  to  the  utmost,  and  finally 
succeeded  in  putdng  out  the  fire.  Rangi  thenceforth 
adopted  the  new  name  of  Matamea,  or  Watery-eyes,  to 
commemorate  his  sufferings;  and  Mokoiro  was  ever 
after  called  Anai,  or  Smoke. 

The  inhabitants  of  Mangaia  availed  themselves  of  the 
conflagradon  to  get  fire  and  to  cook  food.  But  after  a 
little  time  their  fire  went  out,  and  as  they  were  not  in 
possession  of  the  secret,  they  could  not  get  new  fire.  But 
Mani  was  never  without  fire  in  his  dwelling;  a  circum- 
stance that  excited  the  surprise  and  the  envy  of  all.  Many 
were  the  inquiries  as  to  the  cause.    At  length  he  took  com- 


xQO  ERROR'S  CHAINS. 

passion  on  the  inhabitants  of  the  world,  and  told  them 
the  wonderful  secret — that  fire  lies  hidden  in  the  hibiscus, 
the  urtica  argentra,  the  "tauniu,"  and  the  "banyan."  This 
hidden  fire  might  be  elicited  by  the  use  of  fire-sticks, 
which  he  produced.  Finally,  he  desired  them  to  chant 
the  fire -god's  song,  to  give  efficacy  to  the  use  of  the 
sticks,  and  from  that  memorable  day  all  the  dwellers  in 
this  upper  world  used  fire-sticks  with  success,  and  enjoyed 
the  luxuries  of  light  and  cooked  food.  By  such  wonderful 
deeds  Mani  succeeded  in  introducing  himself  amoncr  the 
gods.  He  is  to-day  much  reverenced  throughout  the 
Pacific  Isles. 


THE  KARENS  AND    THEIR    TRADITIONS.  ^q  [ 


CHAPTER  XIX* 

THE     KARENS     AND     THEIR     TRADITIONS. 

The  Karens  are  a  meek,  peaceful  race,  simple  and  credulous,  with 
many  of  the  softer  virtues  and  few  flagrant  vices.  Tliough  greatly 
addicted  to  drunkenness,  extremely  filthy  and  indolent  in  their  habits, 
their  morals,  in  other  respects,  are  superior  to  many  more  civilized 
races.  Their  traditions,  like  those  of  several  tribes  of  American  In- 
dians, are  a  curious  medley  of  myth  and  absurdity;  but  they  have  some 
tolerably  definite  ideas  of  a  Great  Being,  who  governs  the  universe; 
and  many  of  their  traditionary  precepts  bears  a  striking  resemblance 
to  those  of  the  Gospel. — Mrs.  Emily  C.  Judson. 


A 


LTHOUGH  the  Karens,  as  we  now  know  them, 
are  divided  into  two  main  clans  and  numerous 
smaller  divisions,  havino"  dififerent  tribal  customs 
and  speaking  different  dialects,  yet  their  rehgious  cus- 
toms are  marked  by  the  same  distinctive  features  in  all 
the  tribes. 

The  Karens  are  not  now,  and  never  have  been,  so  far 
as  can  be  ascertained,  idol  worshipers.  They  look  with 
cool  contempt  upon  the  religious  forms  of  the  idolaters 
by  whom  they  are  surrounded.  The  few  Karens  who 
have  so  far  forgotten  their  ancient  customs  as  to  give  a 
formal  adherence  to  Buddhist  ceremonies,  are  looked 
upon  as  renegades  by  their  fellow-countrymen. 

This  feature  marks  them  as  entirely  foreign  in  origin 
to  the  country  in  which  they  are  now  found.  This  is 
confirmed  by  their  own  traditions,  which  declare  that  they 

*  Contributed  by  the  Rev.  R.  M.  Luther,  of  Burmah. 


1Q2  ERROR'S   CIIAIXS. 

came  from  the  north-west,  following  the  mountain  ranges 
until  they  found  themselves  in  Burmah,  where  their  home 
now  is. 

These  same  traditions  also  declare  unmistakably  that 
they  once  worshiped  the  true  God,  whom  they  call  in 
their  own  laneuaee  Yuah  or  KtsaJi  Yuah,  the  latter  term 
meanine  "  the  Lord  Yuah."  Karens,  however,  will  seldom 
repeat  this  name ;  the  heathen  declining  positively,  and 
many  of  the  less  informed  Christians  showing  a  strange 
reluctance  to  repeating  it.  The  reason  they  give  is  that 
the  word  Yuah,  in  common  speech,  means  to  flow  down 
or  away,  and  the  Karens  say  that  to  use  this  name  care- 
lessly will  cause  the  favor  of  God  to  flow  away  from 
them. 

Although  the  Karens,  however,  show  this  strange  rever- 
ence for  the  name  of  God,  a  reverence  which  reminds  us 
of  the  similar  feeling  among  the  Jews  for  the  sacred 
name  Jah  or  Yah  which  the  Karen  so  closely  resembles, 
yet  they  do  not  worship  this  Lord  Yuah,  as  a  rule.  In- 
deed in  most  cases  the  only  sign  of  worship  given  to 
him  is  the  exclamation,  "  Ba  Pa  K'tsah!"  used  when  one 
is  startled  or  suddenly  alarmed.  This  phrase  means 
literally  "worship  Father  God,"  or,  colloquially,  "we  wor- 
ship God."  Further  than  this  a  Karen  scarcely  ever 
offers  any  form  of  worship  to  this  Being  whom  they  ac- 
knowledge to  be  in  very  truth  the  one  living  supreme 
God. 

The  reason  for  this  failure  to  worship  Yuah  is  ac- 
counted for  by  the  following  strange  tradition,  which  we 
give  as  it  Is  commonly  repeated  around  the  camp-fires, 
or  in  the  huts  of  the  Karens,  as  they  while  away  the 
cool,  quiet  nights  which  succeed  the  burning  days  of 
Burmah: 

"We  once,  oh!  children  and  grandchildren,  had  the 


THE  KARENS  AND    THEIR    TRADITIONS.  ^^-^ 

Law  of  Yuah,  and  worshiped  him  as  die  only  living  and 
true  God.  This  law  was  a  written  book,  and  was  made 
of  skin,  the  skin  of  an  animal.  Yuah  gave  us  his  law 
because  we  were  his  favored  children.  Yuah  had  seven 
sons,  and  his  oldest  son,  the  first-born  of  his  creation, 
was  our  ancestor,  the  first  of  our  nation  and  the  first 
of  men. 

"Yuah  told  us  to  be  very  careful  of  his  law,  and  for  a 
time  our  ancestors  read  his  book  and  kept  his  command- 
ments, for  they  feared  that  if  they  did  not.  Pa  K'tsah 
(Father  God,  for  that  is  the  real  name  of  Yuah)  w^ould 
flow  (Yuah)  away  from  them. 

"By  and  by,  however,  our  ancestors  became  careless. 
They  had  many  gardens  to  make,  and  they  grew  forget- 
ful of  the  book  of  the  law,  and  one  day  they  left  it  upon 
a  low  tree,  and  the  fowls  flew  up  to  roost  in  the  evening, 
and  threw  the  book  down  to  the  ground  ;  and  then  a  dog 
came  and  carried  it  away,  and  gnawed  it.  Pa  K'tsah 
was  so  displeased  that  he  took  away  his  law  from  us  and 
gave  it  to  our  younger  brother,  the  white  man.  Then 
Yuah  left  us.  He  said:  'Oh,  my  children,  you  are  now 
in  the  power  of  the  evil  spirits,  who  hate  men.  You  can 
only  appease  their  anger  by  sacrifices.  I  am  going  far 
away;  but  do  not  despair.  One  day  your  younger 
brother,  the  white  man,  will  come  to  you  in  ships  from 
the  west,  and  will  bring  you  back  again  the  long-lost 
law  of  Yuah.  Then  you  will  be  happy,  for  the  evil  ones 
will  leave  you,  and  I  will  return.  Till  then  you  must 
wait  and  watch.  You  shall  be  afflicted  with  sickness 
when  the  evil  ones  eat  your  spirits.  You  shall  be  slaves 
to  your  brethren  ;  but  one  day  all  will  be  right,  when 
your  younger  brother,  the  white  stranger,  brings  you 
again  my  law." 

Then,  say  the  Karens,  began  our  troubles  and  sorrows. 


404 


EI?ROR'S   CHAINS. 


Since  then  the  Karens  have  regarded  themselves  as  liv- 
ing in  a  world  of  evil  spirits,  and  their  religiou-s  ceremo- 
nies are  simply  propitiatory  sacrifices  and  prayers  to 
these  evil  beings,  intended  to  conciliate  and  flatter  them. 

When  sick- 
ness afflicts  a 
Karen,  it  is  sup- 
posed to  be  the 
result  of  an  at- 
tack upon  him 
by  one  of  these 
evil  beings.  The 
Karens  say  that 
a  man  has  sev- 
en spirits;  that 
when  we  sleep 
all  these  spirits 
leave  us  and 
wander  about 
the  earth ;  what 
they  see  in  their 
wanderings,  we 
will  see  in  our 
dreams.  Now, 
the  evil  spirits,  according  to  the  belief  of  the  Karens, 
are  on  the  watch  to  catch  the  spirits  of  men  and  devour 
them.  If  one  is  caught,  the  man  falls  sick  ;  if  another, 
he  grows  worse  ;  if  all,  he  dies.  The  evil  spirits  may  be 
appeased  by  a  sacrificial  feast,  and  may  release  the  cap- 
tive soul.  So  a  feast  is  proclaimed,  and  all  the  family  of 
the  sick  man — sometimes  all  his  immediate  relations — 
gather  together  and  partake  of  it  with  great  ceremony, 
offering  portions  of  the  food  to  the  spirits,  by  exposing 
them  outside  the  house  or  village,  where  they  are  quickly 


CHRISTIAN  KAREN  GIRLS. 


THE  KARENS  AND    THEIR    TRADITIONS. 


405 


seized  by  birds.  These  feasts  are  accompanied  by  inter- 
cessory prayer  to  the  evil  spirits  to  release  the  captive 
soul  from  their  toils. 

The  streams,  the  forest,  even  particular  trees,  are  sup- 
posed to  be  the  haunts  of  these  evil  ones.  So  a  Karen, 
when  fishing,  mutters  a  prayer  to  the  tutelary  spirit,  or  if 
he  fells  a  tree,  first  mutters  a  prayer  or  makes  a  propiti- 
atory offering. 

In  sowing  and  reaping  the  grain,  or  planting  fruit-trees, 
and  eatherinof  fruit,  similar  ceremonies  are  observed. 

After  death  solemn  funeral  services  are  held.  The 
soul  is  supposed  to  be  immortal  and  to  exist  in  Hades. 
From  this  Hades  we  are  separated  by  a  stream,  impass- 
able, save  as  the  soul  is  carried  over  upon  the  wings  of  a 
bird,  to  which  they  give  various  names.  The  soul  is 
supposed  to  linger  near  the  grave  or  place  of  sepulture 
until  a  solemn  commemorative  service  is  held,  a  month, 
or  more  commonly,  a  year,  after  the  decease  of  the  body. 
At  this  time  a  feast  is  proclaimed.  All  the  villagers  and 
relatives  are  orathered  together.  A  bone  of  the  deceased 
is  then  taken  from  the  grave,  usually  the  back-bone,  and 
shrined  in  a  carved  wooden  shrine,  which  is  surmounted 
by  the  figure  of  the  sacred  bird.  Dirges,  exceedingly 
poedc  and  beautiful,  are  sung  to  minor  strains.  A  pro- 
cession of  young  men  and  maidens  moves  round  the 
shrine,  bewailing  the  deceased  and  speaking  of  the  hopes 
of  his  safe  entrance  into  a  beaudful  land,  or,  as  the 
northern  tribes  call  it,  the  "silver  city."  The  feast  lasts 
for  a  number  of  days,  usually  seven,  but  if  the  family  of 
the  deceased  is  rich,  it  is  sometimes  prolonged  to  a 
month.  The  bone  is  then  buried  with  great  ceremony, 
and  the  soul  is  supposed  to  enter  its  state  of  rest ;  yet 
not  a  state  of  perfect  happiness,  for  say  the  Karens,  "  No 
one  can  obtain  blessedness  until  Yuah  returns  and  brings 
25 


4o6 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


with  him  happiness  for  this  hfe  and  for  that  which  is  to 
come." 

Mrs.  Vinton,  a  missionary  to  Burmah,  wrote:  "The 
Karens  in  general  hsten  with  oreat  interest  when  we  tell 
them  of  God,  and  frequently  exclaim,  'That  is  what  our 
forefathers  told  us !  That  is  right!  That  is  good!'  I 
have  endeavored  to  discover  how  their  forefathers  came 
by  a  knowledge  of  God ;  but  they  always  answer,  '  Our 
ancestors  knew  Him  from  the  beginning,  but  when  they 
sinned  asfainst  Him  He  hid  Himself  from  them  ;  and  their 
descendants  after  them  knew  not  how  to  worship  Him  ; 
and,  as  He  did  not  protect  them  from  evil  spirits,  they 
were  obliged  to  offer  sacrifices  to  them  to  appease  their 
wrath.' 

"They  tell  us  of  many  attempts  'to  return  to  the  wor- 
ship of  the  God  who  made  the  earth,  and  the  heavens, 
and  all  things.' 

"  These  efforts  have  sometimes  been  continued  for 
months,  and  even  years ;  but  the  poor  Karens  have  in- 
variably fallen  a  sacrifice  to  the  brutal  persecutions  of  the 
Burmans. 

"One  village  of  nearly  a  thousand  inhabitants  worshiped 
God  in  this  way  for  some  time,  unknown  to  the  Bur- 
mans  ;  but  when  the  latter  learned  the  fact  they  sent  an 
armed  force  to  destroy  the  village.  Some  of  the  Karens 
inquired  of  their  leader  if  they  should  fight.  '  No,'  re- 
plied the  chief,  'it  is  inconsistent  with  the  worship  of  our 
God  to  fight.  We  will  cast  ourselves  upon  His  protec- 
tion.' They  then  opened  their  gates,  brought  forth  their 
weapons  of  defense,  and  laid  them  at  the  feet  of  their 
enemies.  Thus  defenseless,  they  were  immediately  slain 
by  their  cruel  oppressors,  the  Burmans." 


THE  FIRE-WORSHIPERS.  .q- 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE    FIRE-WORSHIPERS. 

A  Parsee  believes  in  one  God,  to  whom  he  addresses  his  prayers. 
His  morality  is  comprised  in  these  words — pure  thoughts,  pure  words, 
pure  deeds. — F.  Max  Muller. 

MODERN  Parsees  decidedly  object  to  being  called 
fire-worshipers,  and  declare  the  designation  un- 
true. They  are  undoubtedly  taught  from  their 
youth  up  to  turn  their  face  to  some  light-giving  object 
while  engaged  in  worshiping  God,  and  they  certainly 
regard  the  fire  as  an  emblem  of  the  power  of  God. 
Vet  they  declare  that  they  never  worship  these,  neither 
they  nor  their  fathers.  The  name  has  been  given 
them  from  most  ancient  times ;  and  they  confess  that  if 
there  is  not  a  national  worship  of  the  sun  and  fire,  there 
is  yet  an  indescribable  awe  which  every  Parsee  feels  to- 
ward these  objects.  The  Parsees  are  the  only  Eastern 
people  who  totally  abstain  from  smoking  tobacco.  They 
do  not  even  like  to  blow  out  a  candle.  In  many  other 
respects,  this  is  a  singular  people,  whose  religious  faith 
we  are  about  to  describe.  But,  first,  let  us  turn  to  its 
history. 

To-day  only  about  one  one-hundredth  part  of  the 
whole  human  race  are  Parsees ;  but  there  have  been 
times  when  this  system  bade  fair  to  become  the  preva- 
lent reliction  of  the  world.  It  is  one  of  the  oldest  of  re- 
formed  religions.  It  grew  up  upon  the  idolatrous  wor- 
ship  of  the  ancient  Assyrian  empire.     In  the  days  of 


4o8 


ERROR'S  CHAINS. 


Cyrus  the  Great  this  was  the  State  rehgion  of  Persia. 

Had  Greece 
fallen  before 
him,  and  been 
absorbed  into 
his  vast  em- 
pire, as  had 
Assyria,  Baby- 
lon and  Egypt, 
the  Grecian 
religion  would 
have  yielded 
a  place  to  the 
Parsee's  faith. 
Parseeism  was 
possessed  of 
great  strength, 
and  resisted  all 
attacks  upon 
its  life  until  ^ 
thousand  years 
since,  when 
the  Arabians 
brouofht  Mo- 
hammedanism 
into  the  land  of 
Persia,  From 
that  time  it  has 
been  a  curios- 
ity to  histori- 
ans, and  its 
followers  are 
rapidly  dwind- 
ling away ;    and  ere  long  the  fires  of  its  faith  will  die 


A   PARSKE  MKRCHANT  OF  nOMI'.AY 


THE  FIRE-  WORSHIPERS.  ^OQ 

out,   and   it   will   become    one  of  the    religions    of  the 
past. 

ZOROASTER,  THE    PROPHET   OF    ORMAZD. 

This  system  is  called  generally  by  either  one  of  three 
names  —  Parseeism,  Fire-worship  or  Zoroasteranism.  It 
is  sometimes  called  the  doctrine  of  the  Magi.  Its  usual 
name  is  derived  from  him  who  was  the  most  celebrated 
man  in  the  history  of  this  faith.  Zoroaster  is  sometimes 
called  the  son  of  Ormazd.  He  probably  lived  about  1,200 
years  before  Christ.  The  exact  date  cannot  be  ascer- 
tained. It  is  certain  that  it  was  in  very  early  times,  be- 
cause he  and  his  religious  reform  are  referred  to  in  the 
Vedas,  whose  great  antiquity  has  been  proven.  His 
writings  stand  at  the  head  of  the  sacred  Parsee  books, 
just  as  Moses'  writings  stand  at  the  beginning  of  our 
Bible.  It  took  hundreds  of  years  for  the  sacred  Parsee 
books  to  grow,  and  they  were  completed  In  400  B.  C. 
Pliny  compares  Moses  and  Zoroaster  as  founders  of 
great  religions.  He  certainly  was  one  of  the  earliest 
and  greatest  of  religious  reformers. 

His  teachings  can  be  learned  only  from  the  older  Parsee 
books,  the  Gathas.  His  principal  tenet:  was  that  there- 
is  one  God  and  not  many  gods.  In  his  speculations  he 
taught  that  there  were  two  forces  opposed  to  each  other, 
a  good  being  and  an  evil  being ;  his  followers  afterwards 
declared  these  to  be  a  good  god  and  an  evil  god — Or- 
mazd and  Ahriman.  In  his  moral  teachings  he  declared 
that  three  things  were  to  be  kept  pure ;  namely,  thoughts, 
words  and  deeds. 

Zoroaster's  worship  of  one  god. 

In  one  of  the  Gathas  (a  division  of  the  Zend-Avesta  or 
sacred  Parsee  books),  Zoroaster  Is  represented  as  stand- 


4IO 


EFROR'S   CHAINS. 


ing  before  the  sacred  fire,  in  a  speech  seeking  to  induce 
his  countrymen  to  forsake  the  worship  of  the  devas  or 
o-ods,  and  to  bow  only  to  Ormazd.  In  his  speech  he  de- 
clares that  from  the  worship  of  one  God  flow  all  pros- 
perities, while  from  the  worship  of  many  gods  comes 
ruin  to  the  race.  The  following  is  a  translation  of  his 
speech,  made  by  Haug  the  famous  Parsee  scholar: 

"I.I  will  now  tell  you  who  are  assembled  here  the  wise 
sayings  of  Mazda  {i.  e.,  Ormazd)  the  hymns  of  the  good 
spirit,  the  sublime  truth  which  I  see  arising  out  of  these 
sacred  flames. 

"  2.  You  shall,  therefore,  hearken  to  the  soul  of  nature, 
(/.  e.,  to  plow  and  cultivate  the  soil) ;  contemplate  the 
beams  of  fire  with  a  most  pious  mind !  Every  one,  both 
men  and  women,  ought  to-day  to  choose  his  creed  (be- 
tween deva-worship  and  the  Ormazd  religion).  Ye  off- 
spring of  renowned  ancestors,  awake  to  agree  with  us." 

Again  and  again  Zoroaster  reverts  to  this  theme.  It 
does  seem  as  if  his  ideas  of  Ormazd  greatly  resembled 
those  of  Moses  of  Elohim  or  Jehovah.  Though  the 
ancient  Zoroastrians  believed  in  an  evil  spirit  of  almost 
equal  power  with  Ormazd,  yet  Zoroaster  himself  taught 
nothing  of  this.  With  all  the  ardor  of  Mohammed  he 
waged  war  against  the  worship  of  many  gods  and  idols, 
but  with  none  of  Mohammed's  iconoclastic  zeal.  Zo- 
roaster pursued  his  course  peacefully,  seeking  to  win  his 
countrymen  by  his  words  ;  Mohammed  sought  to  carry 
his  faith  at  the  point  of  the  sword.  Both  sought  the 
same  end,  to  establish  the  worship  of  one  God. 

ORMAZD    AND    AHRIMAN. 

Zoroaster  taught  that  there  were  two  spirits  always  at 
war  with  one  another.  His  followers  changed  his  teach- 
ing into  belief  in  a  good  God,  Ormazd,  and  an  evil  god, 


THE  FIRE.  WORSHIPERS.  a  j  j 

Ahriman.  Ormazd  brings  blessings,  Ahriman  cursings. 
Ormazd  is  the  father  of  truth,  Ahriman  is  father  of  hes. 
Ormazd  favors  the  good,  Ahriman  causes  the  evil  to  tri- 
umph. With  the  two  gods  is  associated  the  idea  of  two 
lives,  a  good  and  a  bad;  of  two  future  homes  for  man,  a 
Heaven  and  a  Hell.  Heaven  is  literally  a  "  house  of 
hymns,"  and  Hell  a  "house  of  destruction."  The  first  is 
the  dwelling-place  of  Ormazd,  the  latter  of  Ahriman. 
Between  Heaven  and  Hell  is  the  "bridge  of  the  gatherer," 
over  which  the  souls  of  the  pious  can  pass,  while  those 
of  the  wicked  fall  into  Hell.  Throughout  the  Zend- 
Avesta  we  find  many  teachings  bearing  a  wondrous  re- 
semblance to  those  of  the  Christian  and  Jewish  Scriptures. 
Beyond  a  question,  these  are  not  derived  from  one 
another,  but  are  founded  on  those  convictions  of  truth 
which  are  a  part  of  our  human  nature. 

FINDING    OF    THE    ZEND-AVESTA. 

It  is  only  recently  that  Europeans  have  been  able  to 
learn  the  contents-  of  the  Bible  of  the  Fire- Worshipers, 
the  Zend-Avesta.  In  the  middle  of  the  last  century  a 
Frenchman,  Anquetil  Duperron,  happened  to  see  some 
pages  written  in  the  Avesta  characters.  Hoping  to  earn 
the  honor  of  opening  the  sacred  scriptures  of  the  Par- 
sees  to  the  western  world,  he  determined  to  go  and  get 
in  Western  India  full  copies  of  these  writings  and  there  to 
learn  the  language.  Being  very  poor,  he  joined  one  of 
the  French  Indian  Company's  ships  as  a  common  sailor, 
for  the  French  Government  had  refused  to  encourage  his 
enterprise.  But  when  he  arrived  in  India  he  found  that 
the  government  had  determined  differently  and  would  aid 
him.  But  the  Parsee  priests  would  neither  give  nor  loan 
him  manuscripts  nor  teach  him  the  language  of  the  Zend- 
Avesta.     Finally  he  managed  to  bribe  a  learned  priest. 


412 


ERROR'S  CHAINS. 


His  translation  appeared  in  the  year  1 771,  after  seventeen 
years  of  toil  and  study.  His  work  created  an  immense 
seiisation  in  Europe.  For  fifty  years  but  little  was  done 
in  Europe  in  addition  to  Duperron's  work.  In  1830, 
Eugene  Burnouf,  a  most  gifted  scholar,  gave  his  attention 
to  the  work.  Others  followed  in  his  track,  until  now  we 
have  complete  and  accurate  translations  of  all  the  Parsee 
sacred  books  in  existence. 

THE    PARSEE    BIBLE. 

This  consists  of  the  writings  and  sayings  of  Zoroastei 
and  the  commentaries  on  these  prepared  by  his  disciples. 
Much  of  the  Zend-Avesta  is  lost  beyond  recovery. 
When  Alexander  the  Great  conquered  the  Persian  em- 
pire, he  and  his  soldiers  destroyed  many  of  these  books. 

In  the  royal  library  at  Persepolis  was  a  complete  copy 
of  the  Zend-Avesta,  which,  by  Alexander's  orders,  was 
burned  with  the  building  containing  them.  The  names 
of  these  books,  of  which  there  were  twenty-one,  remain, 
together  with  a  description  of  them.  In  these  books  was 
gathered  the  whole  religious  and  scientific  literature  of 
the  ancient  Persian  empire.  They  treated  not  only  of 
religious  topics,  but  of  medicine,  astronomy,  agricul- 
ture, botany,  philosophy,  etc.  The  foundation  underlying 
all  these  books  wa3  given  by  Zoroaster.  God  re- 
vealed all  this  to  him,  as  the  Parsees  have  always  be- 
lieved, and  hence  all  these  books  are  inspired.  The 
prophet  was  supposed  to  have  talked  with  God,  asking 
Him  questions  and  receiving  answers.  These  answers 
Zoroaster  communicated  to  his  disciples.  Thus  we  read 
in  the  Zend-Avesta: 

"  That  I  shall  ask  Thee,  tell  it  me  right,  O  Ormazd ! 
Who  was  in  the   beorinnino-  the  father  and  creator  of 

o  o 

righteousness  ?     Who  created  the  path  of  the  sun  and 


THE  FIRE-WORSHIPERS.- 


413 


Stars  ?  Who  caused  the  moon  to  increase  and  wane  but 
Thou  ?  This  I  wish  to  know,  O  Mazda!  besides  what  1 
know  already. 

"That  I  shall  ask  Thee,  tell  it  me  right,  O  Ormazd! 
Who  is  holding  the  earth  and  the  skies  above  it?  Who 
made  the  waters  and  the  trees  of  the  field?  Who  is 
in  the  winds  and  storms  that  they  so  quickly  run  ? 
Who  is  the  creator  of  the  ^ood-minded  beings,  O  Or- 
mazd? 

"  That  I  shall  ask  Thee,  tell  it  me  right,  O  Ormazd ! 
Who  created  the  Hehts  of  eood  effect  and  the  darkness? 
Who  created  the  sleep  of  good  effect  and  the  activity  ? 
Who  created  morning,  noon  and  night,  reminding  the 
priest  always  of  his  duties? 

"That  I  shall  ask  Thee,  tell  it  me  right,  O  Ormazd! 
What  guardian  angel  may  tell  me  good  things  to  per- 
form five  times  a  day,  the  duties  which  are  enjoined  by 
Thyself,  O  Mazda  ?  and  to  recite  those  prayers  which  are 
communicated  for  the  welfare  of  all  beings  by  the  good 
mind?  Whatever  good,  intended  for  the  increase  of 
life,  is  to  be  had,  may  it  come  to  me !" 

The  Dashers  or  high-priests  are  the  only  ones  who  are 
now  expected  to  be  able  to  understand  the  meaning  of  the 
Zend-Avesta;  they  are  expected  to  thoroughly  study  it. 
All  that  remains  of  the  Parsee  Bible  to-day  are  the  follow- 
ing books:  the  Yasna,  Visparad,  Vendidad  and  twenty- 
four  Yashts.  The  Yasnas  are  hymns  used  for  sacrifice. 
They  are  solemnly  recited  before  the  fire.  The  priest 
takes  some  consecrated  water,  bread,  butter,  fresh  milk, 
meat,  the  branches  of  the  Homa  plant  with  a  pomegran- 
ate branch,  the  hair  of  an  ox  and  a  bundle  of  twies. 
These  are  all  placed  on  a  marble  table  opposite  to  the 
fire  on  the  hearth  of  the  temple.  Then  the  priest  re- 
peats the  Yasnas,  sometimes  half-chanting,  half-reciting 


A^A  EHROR'S   CHAINS. 

them.  Thus,  "  Blessed  is  he,  blessed  is  every  one,  to 
whom  Ormazd,  ruling-  by  his  own  will,  shall  grant  the  two 
everlasting  powers,  health  and  immortality.  For  this 
very  good,  I  beseech  Thee.  Mayest  Thou  through  Thine 
angel  of  piety,  Armaiti,  give  me  happiness,  the  good  true 
things,  and  the  possession  of  the  good  mind. 

"  I  believe  Thee  to  be  the  best  Being  of  all,  the  source 
of  lio-ht  for  all  the  world.  Every  one  shall  choose  Thee 
as  the  source  of  light,  Thee,  O  Mazda,  most  beneficent 
spirit !  Thou  createdst  all  good  true  things  by  means  of 
the  power  of  Thy  good  mind  at  any  time,  and  promised 
us,  who  believe  in  Thee,  a  long  life. 

"  Standing  at  Thy  fire,  amongst  Thy  worshipers  who 
pray  to  Thee,  I  will  be  mindful  of  righteousness  as  long 
as  I  shall  be  able." 

The  Visparad  is  a  collection  of  prayers  in  twenty-three 
chapters.  They  are  used  much  in  the  same  way  as  the 
Yasnas.  They  resemble  many  of  the  Vedic  prayers  of 
the  Hindu  religion.  The  Yashts  contain  directions  for 
the  sacrifices  and  hymns  of  prayer  and  praise.  The 
Vendidad  is  the  code  of  the  religious,  civil  and  criminal 
laws  of  the  Parsees.    It  consists  of  twenty-two  chapters. 

PARSEE    WORSHIP. 

The  Parsee  religion  enters  into  the  home-life  of  all  its 
adherents.  The  holy  fire  is  kept  always  burning  in  the 
high-priest's  house,  and  the  people  go  there  to  re-light 
their  household  altar-fires.  A  Parsee  merchant,  Mr. 
Dadabhai  Naoroji,  has  described  the  daily  life  of  the  fire- 
worshiper.  Some  of  their  practices  are  decidedly  dis- 
gusting. A  pious  Parsee  must  say  his  prayers  at  least 
sixteen  times  every  day — on  getting  out  of  bed,  in  wash- 
ing with  nirang  (a  vile  fluid,  supposed  to  be  sacred),  in 
taking  his  bath,  cleansing  his  teeth.     Every  time  that  he 


THE  FIRE-WORSHIPERS.  .  j  r 

washes  his  hands  he  repeats  his  prayers,  and  every  meal 
begins  and  ends  with  prayers.  The  priests  of  to-day  do 
not  even  understand  the  old  Zend  language,  in  which 
these  prayers  are  said.  Mr,  Naoroji  says  :  "All  prayers, 
on  every  occasion,  are  said,  or  rather  recited,  in  the  old 
original  Zend  language ;  neither  the  reciter  nor  the 
people  around  intend  to  be  edified,  no  one  understanding 
a  word  of  it.  There  is  no  pulpit  among  the  Parsees.  On 
some  special  occasions  there  are  assemblages  in  the  tem- 
ples, and  prayers  are  repeated.  Ordinarily,  every  one 
goes  to  the  fire-temple  whenever  he  likes,  or,  if  it  is  con- 
venient to  him,  recites  his  prayers  himself,  and  as  long  as 
he  likes,  and  gives,  if  so  inclined,  something  to  the  priests 
to  pray  for  him." 

The  Parsees  have  only  one  wife.  They  never  eat  food 
cooked  by  a  person  of  another  religion  than  their  own  ; 
they  object  to  eating  beef,  pork  or  ham.  The  priesthood 
is  a  family  office ;  none  but  the  son  of  a  priest  can  be- 
come a  priest.  Fire  is  used  in  connection  with  all  their 
worship  as  the  symbol  and  (so  some  say)  the  representa- 
tive of  God.  Often  one  may  see  in  Bombay,  India,  as 
the  sun  lowers  in  the  west,  a  orroun  of  Parsees  with  heads 
reverently  bowed,  and  hands  clasped,  repeating  their 
prayers.  Light  and  fire  of  any  sort  are  regarded  with 
great  reverence,  and  the  Parsee  always  turns  his  face  to  a 
light-giving  object  when  praying.  The  greatest  respect 
is  shown  to  the  source  of  light  and  heat,  the  sun,  and  to 
the  sacred  fire  in  the  temple  or  the  high-priest's  house. 


4i6 


ERRORS   CHAINS. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

CHINA     AND     HER     PHILOSOPHERS. 

The  teachings  of  Lao-Tsze  are  not  unlike  those  of  Zeno;  both  re- 
commend retirement  and  contemplation  as  the  most  effectual  means 
of  purifying  the  spiritual  part  of  our  nature,  annihilating  the  material 
passions  and  finally  returning  to  the  bosom  of  the  supreme  Reason. 

Hon.  S.  Wells  Williams,  LL.  D. 

WE  now  proceed  to  notice  two  of  the  three  re- 
ligions of  China,  Taoism  and  Confucianism, 
leaving  Buddhism  until  the  chapter  on  Bud- 
dhism. One-third  of  all  the  people  of  the  world  are  gath- 
ered in  China.  Considered  in  every  way  it  is  a  gigantic 
empire.  Its  territory  stretches  over  about  one-third  of 
the  continent  of  Asia  and,  next  to  Russia,  is  the  largest 
connected  empire  on  the  earth.  Within  its  borders 
occur  some  of  the  highest  mountains  and  largest  rivers  in 
the  world.  The  pass  over  the  Mei-ling  in  the  north  of 
Kwang-tung  province,  is  8,000  feet  above  the  sea.  The 
Yellow  River  is  over  2,000  miles  long  and  the  Yangtse 
Kiang  is  nearly  4,000.  China's  various  climates  allow  al- 
most every  kind  of  vegetable  and  plant  to  be  cultivated. 
Minerals  and  metals  of  all  sorts  abound,  so  that  no 
country  in  the  world  contains  greater  wealth.  The  Great 
Chinese  Wall  extends  from  twenty-two  degrees  of  lon- 
ofitude  a  little  north  of  Pekingr  and  is  from  fifteen  to 
thirty  feet  high,  fifteen  feet  broad  and  over  1,500  miles 
long.  This  was  built  more  than  2,000  years  ago.  The 
history  of  China  goes  back  to  2,000  years  before  Christ; 


THE    CHINESE   PHILOSOPHER,    LAO-TSZE. 


4^7 


CHINESE  ORNAMENTS  WITH  WORDS  OF  CHEER. 


it  has  had  from  those  early  days  a  sort  of  civilization.  Two 
thousand  years  ago  it  had  canals  and  other  works  of  in- 
land navigation.  The  Chinese  have  from  very  early  times 
worn  silk.  The  art  of  engraving  on  wooden  blocks  for 
printing  with  movable  types  was  known  500  years  before 
the  days  of  Gu- 
tenberg. They 
have  used  the 
compass,  and 
gunpowder, 
and  paper  for 
many  years. 
They  have  had 

libraries  of  thousands  of  volumes  from  ancient  times. 
Every  village  has  its  school.  The  conceit  of  the  Chinese 
of  their  position  has  been  fostered  very  greatly  by  their 
isolation  and  ignorance  of  other  nations.  Their  ruler  is 
called  the  Son  of  Heaven  and  his  dynasty  the  heavenly 
dynasty,  whence  foreigners  sometimes  wrongly  call  the 
people  Celestials.  China  is  called  the  Middle  Kingdom 
and  the  Flowery  Land.  They  call  foreigners  I-Jin  or 
barbarians,  also  Fank-wei  or  foreign  devils. 

CHINESE    CONTRARIETIES    AND    LANGUAGE. 

They  do  many  things  almost  in  a  way  directly  the  con- 
trary of  that  in  which  we  do  it.  Their  customs  and  ideas 
are  diametrically  opposite  to  ours.  "We  read  horizon- 
tally, they  perpendicularly;  and  the  columns  run  from 
right  to  left.  We  uncover  the  head  as  a  mark  of  re- 
spect, they  put  on  their  caps.  We  black  our  boots,  they 
whiten  them.  W^e  orive  the  place  of  honor  on  the  right, 
they  on  the  left.  We  say  the  needle  points  to  the  north, 
they  to  the  south.  We  shake  the  hand  of  a  friend  in 
salutation,  they  shake  their  own.     We  locate  the  under- 


4i8 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


Standing  in  the  brain,  they  in  the  belly.  We  place  our 
foot-notes  at  the  bottom  of  a  page,  they  at  the  top.  In 
our  libraries  we  set  our  books  up,  they  lay  theirs  down. 
We  now  turn  thousands  of  spindles  and  ply  hundreds  of 
shuttles  without  a  single  hand  to  propel,  they  employ  a 
hand  for  each." 

But  the  most  singular  thing  of  all,  perhaps,  is  the  lan- 
guage. The  fundamental  conception  of  the  language  is 
ideographic.  It  is  entirely  monosyllabic,  and  has  only 
characters,  no  alphabet  or  letters.  In  one  respect  it  is 
as  colossal  as  the  nation  in  the  number  of  its  characters. 
Every  character  is  the  name  of  a  thing.  An  immense 
number  of  seemingly  arbitrary  signs  is  therefore  to  be 
mastered.  The  labor  is  alleviated,  however,  by  the  fact 
that  there  are  certain  root  forms,  variously  estimated  at 
from  315  to  4,000.  Out  of  the  characters  214  have  been 
selected  as  keys  or  radicals,  one  or   other  of  which  is 

found  in  every  character 
of  the  lanofuaofe.  The 
number  of  words  con- 
tained in  the  official  dic- 
tionary is  43,500,  and 
other  authorities  reckon 
as  many  more.  But  the 
missionary  Doolittle,  af- 
firms that  a  knowledge 
of  3,000  or  4,000  charac- 
ters is  sufficient  for  the 
reading  of  most  books.  The  most  complicated  characters 
in  the  language  contain  fifty-two  strokes,  but  such  are  very 
rare.  The  language  is  still  further  complicated  in  its 
pronunciation  by  a  system  of  tones,  which  vary  according 
to  the  meaning  of  the  word.  The  laneuao-e,  like  the 
people,  is  of  the  earth  earthy,  for  among  its  thousands  of 


A  CHINESE  BOOK. 


THE   CHINESE   PHILOSOPHER,    LAO-TSZE. 


4T9 


words  rankly  luxuriant  there,  there  was  found  to  be  no 
expression  suitable  to  express  one  of  the  graces  of  the 
spirit,  and  It  was  for  half  a  century  a  matter  of  grave  discus- 
sion what  should  be  the  proper  rendering  of  the  word  God. 

THE    THREE    CHINESE    RELIGIONS. 

A  Chinaman  may  at  the  same  time  be  an  adherent  of 
all  three  of  the  national  relioflons.  The  mass  of  the  Chi- 
nese  people  accept  the  three,  and  see  no  inconsistency  in 
so  doing.  It  is  somewhat  as  if  we  Americans  were  at 
the  same  time  Protestant,  Romanist  and  skeptic.  The 
Chinese  support  the  priests  of  all  religions,  worship  in 
all  their  temples,  and  believe  In  the  gods  of  each  and 
all.  These  three  religions  differ  from  each  other,  how- 
ever. Dr.  Edklns  has  so  well  defined  this  difference  that 
we  give  his  words  : 

''  Confucianism  speaks  to  the  moral  nature.  It  dis- 
courses on  virtue  and  vice,  and  the  duty  of  compliance 
with  law  and  the  dictates  of  conscience.  Its  worship 
rests  on  this  basis.  The  religious  veneration  paid  to  an- 
cestors— for  that  Is  the  worship  of  this  system — is  founded 
on  the  duty  of  filial  piety.  The  moral  sense  of  the  Chi- 
nese Is  offended  if  they  are  called  on  to  resign  this  custom. 

"  Taoism  is  materialistic.  Its  notion  of  the  soul  is  of 
something  physical,  a  purer  form  of  matter.  The  soul  It 
supposes  to  gain  Immortality  by  a  physical  discipline,  a 
sort  of  chemical  process,  which  transmutes  it  into  a  more 
ethereal  essence,  and  prepares  it  for  being  transferred  to 
the  regions  of  immortality.  The  gods  of  Taoism  are 
also  very  much  what  might  be  expected  In  a  system 
which  has  such  notions  as  these  of  the  soul.  It  looks 
upon  the  stars  as  divine.  It  deifies  hermits  and  physi- 
cians, magicians  and  seekers  after  the  philosopher's  stone 
and  the  plant  of  Immortality. 


420 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


"  Buddhism  is  different  from  both.  It  is  metaphysical. 
It  appeals  to  the  imagination,  and  deals  in  subtle  argu- 
ment. It  says  that  the  world  of  the  senses  is  altogether 
unreal,  and  upholds  this  proposition  by  the  most  elabor- 
ate proofs.  Its  gods  are  personified  ideas.  It  denies 
matter  entirely,  and  concerns  itself  only  with  ideas.  Most 
of  the  personages  adored  by  the  Buddhists  are  known  to 
be  nothing  but  fictitious  impersonations  of  some  of  these 
ideas.  The  Buddhist  worship  is  not  reverence  paid  to 
beings  believed  to  be  actually  existing ;  it  is  a  homage 
rendered  to  ideas,  and  it  is  only  supposed  to  be  reflex  in 
its  effects.  Their  worship  is  useful  as  a  discipline,  but 
not  effectual  as  prayer.  The  Buddhist,  if  he  can  obtain 
abstraction  of  mind  from  the  world  in  any  other  mode, 
need  not  pray  or  worship  at  all. 

"These  three  systems,  occupying  the  three  corners  of 
a  triangle — the  moral,  the  metaphysical  and  the  material 
— are  supplemental  to  each  other,  and  are  able  to  co-exist 
without  being  mutually  destructive.  They  rest  each  on 
a  basis  of  its  own,  and  address  themselves  each  to  differ- 
ent parts  of  man's  nature.  It  was  because  Confucianism 
*  knew  God,  but  did  not  honor  Him  as  God,'  that  the  way 
was  left  open  for  a  polytheism  like  that  of  the  Buddhists. 
In  the  old  books  of  China,  God  is  spoken  of  as  the  Su- 
preme Ruler,  He  is  represented  as  exercising  over 
mankind  an  infinitely  just  and  beneficent  providence. 
But  the  duty  of  prayer  is  not  enjoined.  No  worship  of 
God  by  the  people  is  permitted.  It  was  only  by  the 
emperor  acting  vicariously  for  the  people  that  the  Deity 
was  adored  in  that  country.  The  system  of  Confucius, 
wanting  this,  was  more  a  morality  than  a  religion. 

"Buddhism  came  to  fill  this  vacancy.  Individual  faith 
in  God,  with  a  rational  mode  of  worship  to  accompany  it, 
could   not   be   a  result  of  the   relieious  teachinor   which 


THE    CHINESE   PHILOSOPHER,    LAO-TSZE. 


421 


preceded  It  in  China,  nor  were  they  inculcated  by  it.  In 
Buddhism,  the  Chinese  found  objects  to  adore  of  myste- 
rious grandeur,  and  richly  endowed  with  the  attributes 
of  wisdom  and  benevolence.  The  appeal  thus  made  to 
their  religious  faith  was  strengthened  by  a  pompous  form 
of  worship.  Processions  and  the  ringing  of  bells,  fumes 
of  sweet-smelling  incense,  prayers,  chanting  and  musical 
instruments  were  their  aids  to  devotion.  No  wonder 
that  these  additions  should  prove  welcome  to  the  reli- 
gious susceptibilities  of  a  nation  which  had  hitherto  been 
restricted  within  the  bounds  of  a  system  almost  exclu- 
sively moral,  and  which  discouraged  the  worship  of  God 
by  the  mass  of  the  peopl-e. 

"  How  Taoism  meets  certain  other  wants  which  the 
other  two  systems  fail  to  gratify,  we  will  now  show  by  an 
illustration :  It  was  a  cold  morning  in  January,  when  a 
missionary  walked,  on  one  occasion,  to  a  temple  near  the 
west  gate  of  Shanghai.  There  is  a  medical  divinity  much 
honored,  who  resides  in  this  temple,  to  heal,  as  his  wor- 
shipers think,  the  ailments  of  those  who  pray  to  him. 
The  Taolst  priest  in  charge  addressed  the  foreign  vis- 
itor with  a  somewhat  unexpected  exhortation  :  *  You  come 
to  our  country  giving  us  good  advice  ;  now  let  me  address 
a  little  to  you.  Your  religion  does  not  meet  the  require- 
ments of  the  people.  When  they  worship,  they  wish  to 
know  whether  they  can  grow 'rich,  and  recover  from  dis- 
ease ;  but  in  the  case  of  believing  In  Jesus,  there  are  no 
benefits  of  this  kind  to  be  looked  for.'  He  pointed  to  the 
little  image,  representing  some  physician  of  a  former 
dynasty,  sitting  In  its  shrine  in  a  dim  light,  just  visible 
through  the  opening  of  the  curtains.  *  See,'  said  he, 
'  here  is  the  god,  ready  to  tell  the  believing  devotee  what 
medicine  he  needs,  and  to  guarantee  its  healing  effect. 

Look  at  the  Inscriptions  fixed  on  the  roof  above  and  on 
26 


422  ERROR'S   CHAIN'S. 

each  side  of  the  shrine.  They  describe  his  marvel-work- 
ing" power.'  He  was  asked  who  placed  those  tablets 
there.  '  They  are/  he  replied,  '  the  offerings  of  persons 
cured  by  this  divinity.'  In  the  Central  Kingdom,  the  set- 
ting of  the  tablets  in  the  temples  by  individuals  is  cus- 
tomary, and  they  are  intended  to  commemorate  benefits 
received  from  the  divinides  to  whom  they  are  dedicated. 
A  visitor  from  a  village  in  the  country,  at  a  distance  of 
some  miles,  now  appeared,  and  went  through  the  usual 
ceremonies.  He  was  asked,  'Why  do  you  not  consult  a 
physician  ?  This  idol  is  dead  wood.  It  cannot  see  or 
hear.  Why  apply  to  it  ?'  The  devotee  answered  with 
great  simplicity,  *  I  do  not  know  what  my  disease  is  ;  how, 
then,  can  I  apply  to  a  physician?  It  is  on  this  account 
that  I  ask  the  eod.  He  will  heal  me.  I  have  come  a 
long  way  on  purpose.  His  fame  is  very  widely  spread.' 
He  was  again  asked,  'Will  you  not  go  to  the  foreign  free 
hospital  ?'  He  answered,  '  It  is  not  the  right  time  of  day, 
and,  besides,  I  like  to  come  here  ;  and  why  should  I  not?' 
He  was  asked  again,  '  Do  you  know  that  this  burning  of 
incense  and  seeking-  for  oracular  information  at  an  idol's 
shrine  is  displeasing  to  God  ?  It  is  as  unwise,  therefore, 
as  it  is  unreasonable,  to  apply  to  this  god  to  tell  you 
what  medicine  you  should  use.'  At  this  point,  the  Tao- 
ist  priest  came  to  the  defense  of  his  system.  '  You 
believe  in  Jesus.  We  believe  in  our  gods.  Religions 
differ  according  to  place,  and  every  country  has  its  own 
divinities.  We  have  Kwan-kung,  for  example,  the  god  of 
war,  and  other  divinities,  holding  the  same  place  among 
us  that  Jesus  does  among  you.'  He  was  asked,  *  How 
can  these  supposed  gods  benefit  you  ?  They  are  but  the 
imaginary  representatives  of  men  belonging  to  your 
nation,  who  long  ago  died.'  The  Taoist  asked  in  re- 
ply, '  Is  it  not  the  same  with  Jesus  ?     He  also  is  long 


THE   CHINESE   PHILOSOPHER,   LAO-TSZE. 


423 


since  dead.  What  benefit  do  you  expect  from  him  ?' 
He  was  then  told,  '  We  do  not  make  an  image  of  Him, 
place  it  in  a  shrine,  and  cast  lots  before  it,  expecting  to 
learn,  by  so  doing,  how  a  disease  is  to  be  cured.  The 
parallel  is  not  accurate.  The  benefit  we  expect  from 
Him  is  that  He  will  help  us  in  becoming  virtuous,  and  in 
attaining  a  happy  future  life.  The  object  of  our  religious 
books  is  to  free  us  from  sin,  and  Jesus,  who  still  lives  in 
Heaven,  is  able  to  secure^us  this.'  The  reference  to  books 
led  him  to  remark,  '  We  have  our  books,  too,  to  exhort 
men  to  virtue.'  He  took  up  a  copy  of  a  well-known 
work,  often  distributed  gratuitously  in  China.  'This,'  he 
said, 'is  the  Kan-ying-peen  (Book  of  Retribution);  all 
that  it  contains  is  intended  to  make  men  better.  It 
promises  long  life  to  the  good,  and  all  kinds  of  calamities 
to  the  wicked.  Our  object  is  the  same  as  yours — to 
make  men  good.'  He  was  reminded  that,  according  to 
the  doctrine  of  this  book,  happiness  and  misery  were  the 
rewards  of  virtue  and  vice,  and  that  this  did  not  agree 
with  the  system  of  divination  on  which  his  temple  de- 
pended for  its  support,  and  was  asked  why  he  encour- 
aged those  who  frequented  it  to  expect  good  from  the 
throwing  of  sticks  on  the  floor,  and  the  shaking  of  lots 
together  in  a  wooden  cup,  if  good  and  ill  fortune  were 
awarded  to  men  by  Heaven  only  according  to  character. 
To  this  the  priest  of  Tao  replied,  as  he  sat  surrounded 
by  his  boxes  of  medicines,  arranged  in  pigeon-holes,  with 
his  recipe-book  on  the  table  before  him,  from  which  he 
selected  the  appropriate  nostrum  under  the  guidance  of 
the  oracle,  '  If  the  person  who  comes  to  worship  is  wicked 
at  heart,  he  will  not  be  heard  ;  the  oracle  will  fail.'  '  But,' 
it  was  remarked,  '  if  he  be  only  virtuous,  he  need  not 
come  here  at  all.  The  orreat  thincr  is  to  be  eood.'  "  Such 
are  the  tenets  of  Taoism. 


^2 A  EEJiOR'S   CHAINS. 


THE    OLD    BOY. 

Confucius  became  the  prophet  of  the  practical.  About 
fifty  years  before  Confucius,  was  born  one  who  became  a 
deep  thinker  who  looked  with  scorn  upon  the  work  of 
Confucius.  This  was  Lao-tsze,  who  was  born  604  B.  C. 
According  to  the  legends  of  the  Taoists  he  had  the  appear- 
ance, when  born,  of  an  old  man  with  gray  hair,  and  so 
they  called  him  Lao-tsze,  which  means  the  old  boy. 
When  he  was  born,  so  they  say,  he  was  wise  as  men  are 
when  they  become  old.  Other  legends  say  that  as  soon  as 
he  was  born,  he  mounted  into  the  air  and  pointing  with  his 
left  hand  to  heaven,  and  with  his  right  to  the  earth,  he  said : 
"In  heaven  above  and  on  earth  beneath,  Tao  alone  is 
worthy  of  honor."  His  complexion  was  white  and  yellow ; 
his  ears  were  of  extraordinary  size,  and  were  each  pierced 
with  three  passages.  He  had  handsome  eyebrows,  large 
eyes,  ragged  teeth,  a  double-ridged  nose  and  a  square 
mouth ;  on  each  foot  he  had  ten  toes.  All  of  this  was  to 
distinofuish  him  from  common  men.  He  became  a  her- 
mit-student.  His  chief  disciple  was  named  Yin-He. 
The  following  story  will  serve  to  illustrate  the  miraculous 
powers  ascribed  to  Lao-tsze. 

THE    TALISMAN    OF    LONG    LIFE. 

The  philosopher's  servant,  Senkea,  who  had  served 
him  for  200  years  without  receiving  any  wages,  finding 
that  his  master  was  going  to  take  a  journey  whither  he 
knew  not,  suddenly  demanded  his  arrears  of  pay,  which 
upon  calculation  were  found  to  amount  to  72,000  ounces 
of  silver.  Fearing  to  face  his  master,  he  induced  an  ac- 
quaintance to  ask  Yin-He  to  broach  the  subject  to  Lao- 
t<^ze.  The  acquaintance  being  ignorant  of  the  relation 
existing  between   the  master  and  servant,  and  already 


THE    CHINESE   PHILOSOPHER,   LAO-TSZE  ^25 

deeming  in  anticipation  Senkea  to  be  a  rich  man,  promised 
him  his  daughter  in  marriage.  The  beauty  of  the  girl  added 
to  the  persistency  of  the  serving-man,  whom  Lao-tsze 
summoned  to  his  presence.  "  I  hired  you  originally,"  he 
said,  "to  perform  the  most  humble  duties;  your  circum- 
stances were  poor  and  no  one  else  would  employ  you.  I 
have  given  you  the  talisman  of  long  life,  and  it  is  due  to 
this  alone  that  you  are  now  in  existence.  How  have  you 
so  far  forgotten  the  benefits  I  have  heaped  upon  you  as 
to  cover  me  with  reproaches?  I  am  now  about  to  set  out 
for  the  Western  Sea  (the  Caspian) ;  I  intend  to  visit  the 
kingdoms  of  Ya  T'sin  (the  Roman  Empire),  of  Ke-pin 
(Cabul),  of  Tien-chuh  (India),  and  of  Gan-se  (Parthia) ; 
and  I  order  you  to  act  as  my  charioteer  thitherwards.  On 
my  return,  I  will  pay  you  that  which  I  owe  you." 

But  Senkea  sull  refused  to  obey.  Whereupon  Lao- 
tsze  ordered  him  to  lean  forward  and  open  his  mouth, 
and  instandy  there  escaped  from  his  lips  the  talisman, 
and  at  the  same  moment  his  body  became  a  heap  of 
dry  bones.  At  the  earnest  prayer  of  Yin-He  the  ser- 
vant was  restored  to  life,  and  was  dismissed  with  a 
present  of  20,000  ounces  of  silver.  Having  nothing  fur- 
ther to  detain  him,  Lao-tsze  bade  farewell  to  the  keeper 
of  the  pass,  and  mounting  upon  a  cloud,  disappeared  into 
space. 

Some  Taoist  writers  claim  Lao-tsze  as  the  author  of 
930  of  the  current  works  on  the  superstitious  varieties 
of  modern  Taoism,  and  add  complacently  that  all  other 
books  are  unworthy  of  the  same  regard,  having  been 
secretly  added  by  the  followers  of  Tao  in  later  ages. 

THE  VISIT  OF  CONFUCIUS  TO  LAO-TSZE. 

Confucius  once  held  an  interview  with  Lao-tsze. 
From  this  he  returned  to  his  disciples,  and  for  three  days 


426 


ERJiOR'S   CHAINS. 


he  did  not  utter  a  word.  According  to  his  own  account, 
Lao-tsze  exercised  a  complete  fascination  over  him. 
He  felt,  when  conversing  with  the  older  philosopher,  that 
he  was  in  the  presence  of  a  master  mind,  and  the  mer- 
ciless criticism  of  which  his  doctrines  were  the  object, 
shook  his  faith  somewhat  in  their  truth.  "At  his  voice," 
said  he,  "  my  mouth  gaped  wide,  my  tongue  protruded, 
and  my  soul  was  plunged  in  trouble." 

To  Yang-tsze,  a  disciple  of  Confucius,  Lao-tsze  spoke 
in  the  same  strain.  "  The  spots  of  the  tiger,  and  of  the 
leopard,  and  the  agility  of  the  monkey,  are  that  which 
exposes  them  to  the  arrows  of  the  hunter."  And  in 
reply  to  a  question  concerning  the  administration  of  the 
illustrious  kings  of  antiquity,  he  said,  "  Such  was  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  illustrious  kings,  that  their  merits 
overspread  the  empire  unknown  to  themselves ;  the  in- 
fluence of  their  example  extended  to  all  beings ;  they 
effected  the  happiness  of  the  people  without  letdng  them 
feel  their  presence.  Their  virtue  was  so  sublime  that 
human  speech  is  unable  to  express  it ;  they  lived  in  an 
impenetrable  retreat,  and  were  absorbed  in  Tao." 

THE   VOYAGE    IN    SEARCH    OF   THE   TALISMAN    OF    LONG    LIFE. 

The  talisman  of  long  life  was  said  to  have  been  lost 
after  Lao-tsze's  death.  But  Che  Hwane-te  determined 
to  find  it.  He  was  persuaded  into  believing  that  in  the 
ocean  to  the  east  of  China  there  were  "  Golden  Islands 
of  the  Blest,"  where  genii  dwelt,  whose  business  and  de- 
light it  was  to  dispense  to  all  visitors  to  their  shores  a 
draught  of  immortality,  compounded  of  the  fragrant 
herbs  which  grew  in  abundance  round  them ;  that  here 
also  was  the  talisman  of  long  life  kept.  So  sincere 
was  Che  Hwang-te's  faith  that  he  fitted  out  a  naval 
expedition  to  discover  these  much-to-be-desired  regions, 


THE    CHINESE   PHILOSOPHER,    LAO-TSZE. 


•427 


and  placed  a  Taoist  magician  at  the  head  of  the  under- 
taking. On  the  plea  that  it  had  been  revealed  to  him 
that  the  expedition  was  likely  to  meet  with  a  more  favor- 
able reception  at  the  Golden  Isles  if  a  company  of  youths 
and  maidens  accompanied  it,  Sen  She,  the  leader,  per- 
suaded the  Emperor  to  send  several  thousands  of  girls 
and  young  men  with  him.  On  the  return  of  the  voy- 
agers they  reported  that  they  had  sailed  within  sight  of 
the  islands,  but  had  been  driven  back  by  contrary  winds. 
The  Emperor  determined  to  try  again.  This  second  ex- 
pedition failed.  But  private  individuals  declared  that 
they  had  succeeded  in  reaching  the  islands,  in  seeing  the 
genii,  in  securing  the  draughts  of  the  elixir  of  life,  and 
that  they  had  seen  the  Talisman.  Che  Hwang-te's  fail- 
ures would  not  let  him  see  the  imposture  that  was  being 
played  upon  him.  Again  and  again  he  sent,  and  great 
sums  were  expended,  and  finally  an  emptied  treasury 
forced  him  to  relinquish  his  project 


428 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE    TAOIST    SACRED    BOOKS    AND    GODS. 

The  Tao-te-king  still  remains  the  monument  of  Lao-tsze's  extra- 
ordinary power  and  penetration  ;  and  it  gives  ample  reason  for  assign- 
ing him  a  place  indefinitely  higher  than  the  mass  of  his  contempora- 
ries.— Archdeacon  Charles  Hardwick. 

LAO-TSZE  gave  to  Yin- He,  when  he  left  China  on 
his  last  journey,  the  results  of  his  long  life  of 
meditation  in  a  little  book  of  5,000  characters. 
On  this  little  book  the  immense  volumes  of  the  Taoist 
religion  are  built  up.  This  is  called  the  Tao-Te-King,  or 
Book  of  the  Way  and  of  Virtue.  This  is  a  metaphysical 
treatise,  and  its  meaning  is  very  obscure.  There  is  much 
of  materialistic  speculation,  magic  and  divination  in  this 
book.  The  first  chapter  tells  us  that  "that  which  is 
nameless  is  the  beginning  of  Heaven  and  earth."  "  Taou 
produced  one,  the  first  great  cause ;  one  produced  two, 
the  male  and  female  principles  of  nature;  from  the  two 
came  three,  and  the  three  produced  all  things  that  are  in 
Heaven  and  earth," 

All  things  endure  for  a  set  time,  and  then  perish. 
Together  they  came  into  being,  and  to  each  is  allotted  a 
certain  period  of  growth  and  maturity;  but  when  the 
highest  point  of  vigor  has  been  reached,  it  straightway 
becomes  old  and  returns  home  to  its  root.  "  This  is 
said  to  be  a  reversion  to  destiny."  Emptiness  is  the  only 
thing  which  endures,  and  this  is  at  the  same  time  of  the 
highest  use.     The  space  between  Heaven  and  earth,  for 


THE  TAOIST  SACRED  BOOKS  AND  GODS. 


429 


example,  may  be  likened  to  a  pair  of  bellows,  which, 
though  it  is  empty,  never  collapses,  and  which,  the  more 
it  is  exercised,  the  more  it  brings  forth.  So  also  with  the 
wheel  of  a  carriage,  or  an  earthen  vessel,  or  the  windows 
and  doors  of  a  house.  In  each  case  it  is  the  non-existing 
or  empty  part  which  is  useful.  The  spokes  and  nave  of 
the  wheel,  the  walls  of  the  earthen  vessel,  and  the  frames 
of  the  doors  and  windows  are  advantageous,  but  the  use 
of  each  depends  on  the  part  which  is  empty.  "  So,  then, 
existence  may  be  said  to  correspond  to  gain,  but  non- 
existence to  use."  When  a  thing  is  to  be  weakened,  it 
must  first  be  strengthened ;  when  it  is  about  to  be 
brought  low,  it  must  first  be  raised  up ;  and  that  which  is 
to  be  taken  away  from  it  must  first  be  given  to  it. 

In  the  superiority  of  non-existence  over  existence  lies 
the  lesson  which,  above  all  others,  Lao-tsze  desired  to 
impress  on  man.  The  great  concern  of  all  men  in  all 
ages  has  been  to  take  care  of  the  things  of  the  body,  and 
to  neglect  the  cultivation  of  the  inner  man  ;  to  seek  after 
the  gratification  of  sense,  and  to  forget  the  importance  of 
the  soul.  And  what  is  the 
result?  The  five  colors, 
which  so  delight  the  eyes, 
not  unfrequently  produce  if 
blindness.     The  five  sounds 

which  so  enchant  the  ear  are        ^  ^^^^^^  ^^^^  ^  ^^^ist 
often  the  cause  of  deafness.  temple. 

A  man's  palate,  which  at  first  revels  in  the  five  tastes, 
.soon  loses  all  sense  of  flavor.  The  pursuit  of  pleasure 
or  of  ambition  is  equally  deceptive.  Riding  and  hunt- 
ing will  drive  a  man  mad,  and  things  hard  to  procure 
bring  evil  upon  their  possessors.  "  Therefore,  the  sage 
makes  provision  for  the  inner  man,  and  not  for  his  eyes. 
He  puts  aside  the  one,  that  he  may  take  the  other  in 


.-^  ERROR'S   CHAINS. 

hand."  He  remembers  that  rest  is  the  lord  of  motion, 
and.  never  allows  himself  to  depart  from  a  state  of  quie- 
tude and  gravity. 

THE    BOOK   OF    REWARDS    AND    PUNISHMENTS. 

The  Taoists  have  long  been  in  the  habit  of  printing 
by  subscription,  and  circulating  as  a  matter  of  religious 
duty,  the  collection  of  maxims  known  as  the  Book  of 
Rewards  a7id  Punishments.  Each  maxim  is  followed  by 
a  gloss  or  commentary,  and  in  almost  every  case  eluci- 
dated by  appropriate  tales  and  anecdotes.  The  high  re- 
pute in  which  this  volume  stands  is  further  indicated  by 
the  circumstance  that  the  authorship  has  in  modern  times 
been  attributed  to  Lao-tsze  himself,  in  his  capacity  of 
deified  and  venerable  Prince  or  incarnation  of  Tao. 
"Every  wise  man,"  writes  a  commentator,  "ought  to  be 
full  of  respect  for  this  book:  he  ought  to  believe  sin- 
cerely all  the  maxims  it  delivers,  and  ought  to  practice 
them  faithfully,  regardless  of  all  obstacles,  and  without 
sufferine  the  zeal  he  had  evinced  at  the  commencement 
to  diminish  at  the  close  of  his  career.  He  ought  every 
morning  to  read  it  aloud,  and  to  meditate  on  every  phrase 
with  serious  attention.  Let  him  redouble  his  efforts  to 
perform  good  works,  and  his  anxiety  and  ardor  to  correct 
past  failings.  Then  will  happiness  spring  up  within  him- 
self to  recompense  his  merits;  and  his  end  will  be  ad- 
vancement to  the  rank  of  the  immortals."  While  the 
general  tone  of  this  production  harmonizes  with  the  older 
treatise,  it  bears  frequent  witness  also  to  the  presence  of 
a  more  eclectic  and  accommodating  spirit.  So  highly  is 
this  book  esteemed  as  a  guide  and  instructor  that  its  dis- 
tribution is  considered  to  be  a  religious  duty.  Edition 
after  edition  appears  from  the  local  presses  at  the  demand 
of  the  charitable  subscribers,  who  give  them  to  the  poor. 


THE  TAOIST  SACRED  BOOKS  AND  CODS.  a^^ 


SOME    SELECTIONS   FROM    THE    BOOK    OF    REWARDS    AND    PUN- 
ISHMENTS. 

"Advance  along  the  right  way,  and  retreat  from  the 
evil  way." 

"Do  not  betray  the  secret  of  the  household." 

"Be  humane  to  animals." 

"Rectify  yourself  and  convert  men." 

"Have  pity  for  orphans,  and  show  compassion  to 
widows." 

"Rejoice  at  the  success  of  others,  and  sympathize 
with  their  reverses,  even  as  though  you  were  in  their 
place." 

"Do  not  expose  the  faults  of  others." 

"Bestow  favors  without  expecting  recompense." 

"Give  willingly." 

"A  man  who  does  these  things  is  called  virtuous.    All 

<z> 

men  respect  him.  Providence  protects  him.  Good  for- 
tune and  office  attend  him.  The  demons  flee  from  him. 
The  god-like  spirits  guard  him.  He  succeeds  in  all  that 
he  lays  his  hand  to,  and  to  him  is  given  the  hope  of 
immortality." 

"He  who  wishes  to  become  an  immortal  of  Heaven 
must  do  a  thousand  and  three  hundred  ofood  works.  He 
who  wishes  to  become  an  immortal  of  earth  must  do 
three  hundred  p-ood  works." 

"He  who  inflicts  an  injury  in  broad  daylight,  will  be 
punished  by  men;  but  he  who  inflicts  an  injury  in  secret 
will  be  punished  by  demons." 

"Don't  take  advantaofe  of  the  ignorance  of  men  to 
deceive  them  with  lying  words." 

"  Never  divulge  the  faults  of  your  parents." 

"  Don't  rank  faults  as  crimes." 

"Don't  shoot  at  birds, nor  hunt  animals." 


432 


EJiKOR'S   CJJAINS. 


"  Don't  drive  insects  from  their  holes,  nor  frighten 
roostingr  birds." 

"  Don't  buy  groundless  praise." 

"  Don't  kill  and  cook  domestic  animals  except  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  rites." 

"  Don't  destroy  or  throw  away  the  five  kinds  of  grain." 

"  When  you  see  others  covered  with  glory  and  honor, 
don't  desire  to  see  them  exiled  from  the  country." 

"A  handsome  figure  excites  the  admiration  of  the 
world,  but  it  does  not  deceive  Heaven." 

"  Don't  laugh  at  the  deformities  of  others." 

**  Don't  bury  the  effigy  of  a  man  to  inflict  an  incubus 
upon  him." 

[This  refers  to  the  practice  of  burying  a  wooden  figure 
of  a  man  to  charm  away  his  life,  much  in  the  same  way 
that  lately,  in  Shanghai  and  elsewhere,  men  were  accused 
of  making  paper  men  which  suffocated  people  in  their 
sleep.] 

*'  Don't  deceive  the  innocent  and  set  snares  for  them." 

'*  Live  in  harmony  with  your  wife." 

"Wives,  respect  your  husbands." 

"Wives,  be  not  wanting  in  your  duties  toward  your 
father  and  mother-in-law." 

"  Don't  treat  with  contempt  the  souls  of  your  ancestors." 

"  Wells  and  hearths  are  presided  over  by  certain 
spirits,  and  if  you  leap  over  them,  not  only  do  you  insult 
the  gods,  but  you  show  that  you  have  forgotten  the  two 
things  which  are  the  foundation  of  the  life  of  men." 

"  A  good  man  is  virtuous  in  his  words,  looks  and  ac- 
tions. If  each  day  he  practices  these  three  virtues,  at  the 
end  of  three  years  Heaven  will  pour  down  blessings  upon 
him.  The  wicked  man  is  vicious  in  his  words,  looks  and 
actions.  If  each  day  he  practices  these  three  vices,  at  the 
end  of  three  years  Heaven  will  send  misfortune  upon  him." 


THE  TAOIST  SACRED  BOOKS  AND  GODS.  433 


THE    BOOK    OF    SECRET   BLESSINGS. 

This  book  contains  a  number  of  moral  injunctions,  and 
while  it  is  a  Taoist  book  there  is  no  reference  to  Taiost 


1-1  EJ^ROJi'S   CHAINS. 

doctrines  in  it.     It  consists  of  540  words.     Some  of  its 
leading  maxims  are  given  below. 

"  Redeem  the  lives  of  animals,  and  abstain  from  shed- 
ding blood.  Be  careful  not  to  tread  upon  insects  on  the 
road,  and  set  not  fire  to  the  forests,  lest  you  should  de- 
stroy life.  Burn  a  candle  in  your  window  to  give  light  to 
the  traveler,  and  keep  a  boat  to  help  voyagers  across 
rivers.  Do  not  spread  your  net  on  the  mountains  to  catch 
birds,  nor  poison  the  fish  and  reptiles  in  the  waters. 
Never  destroy  paper  which  is  written  upon,  and  enter  into 
no  league  against  your  neighbor.  Avoid  contentions,  and 
beware  not  to  stir  up  ill  blood.  Use  not  your  power  to 
discredit  the  good,  nor  your  riches  to  persecute  the  poor. 
Love  the  good,  and  flee  from  the  face  of  a  wicked  man, 
lest  you  fall  into  evil.  Hide  your  neighbor's  faults,  and 
speak  only  of  their  good  deeds,  and  let  your  mouth  utter 
the  true  sentiments  of  your  heart.  Remove  stones  and 
debris  from  the  roadway,  repair  the  footpaths  and  build 
bridges.  Publish  abroad  lessons  for  the  improvement  of 
mankind,  and  devote  your  wealth  to  the  good  of  your  fel- 
low-men. In  all  your  actions  follow  the  principles  of  Hea- 
ven, and  in  all  your  words  follow  the  purified  heart  of  man. 
Have  all  the  sages  of  antiquity  before  your  eyes,  and  ex- 
amine carefully  your  conscience.  What  good  thing  will 
be  withheld  from  him  who  practices  secret  benefits?" 

THE    GODS    OF   THE    TAOISTS. 

Lao-tsze  had  nothing  to  say  of  gods  and  goddesses. 
When  Buddhism  came  to  China  it  taught  Lao-tsze's  dis- 
ciples to  have  gods.  As  the  Buddhists  had  deified  La- 
kya-muni,  so  the  Taoists  now  deified  Lao-tsze.  As  the 
Buddhists  worshiped  under  the  form  of  the  "Three  Pre- 
cious Ones,"  so  the  Taoists  worshiped  Lao-tsze  as  Sa7t- 
Tsing,  or  the  "Three  Pure  Ones."     They  had  an  image 


THE   TAO  1ST  SACRED  BOOKS  AND   GODS. 


435 


for  each  one  of  the  three,  and  seated  them  side  by  side. 
The  priests  generally,  and  but  rarely  the  common  people, 
worship  the  San-Tsing.     For  the  common  people  a  god 


THE  THREE  PURE  ONES. 


was  introduced,  called  the  "  Pearly  Emperor  Supreme 
Ruler."  He  is  the  chief  Taoist  god.  He  is  called  the 
producer  of  all  things  and  governor  of  all.  To  him  all 
the  gods  make  their  reports.  In  times  of  drought,  the 
governors,  the  man- 
darins, go  to  his  tem- 
ple to  burn  incense 
and  pray  for  rain. 
They  carry  idols  with 
the  m  and  make 
thanksorivinor  offer- 
ings  after  the  rain 
has  come.  TheTao- 
^  ist  worships  the 
mountains,  valleys, 
GonoFTHKKucHK.v  g^^^ams,  rivers  and 
stars.  The  Great  Bear  is  supposed  to  be  the  palace  of 
the  goddess  Tow-Mu  and  the  god  Kwei-Sing.  The 
God  of  Thunder  is  a  common  object  of  worship,  and  is 


GOD  OF  THUXDER. 


436 


ERROH'S   CHAINS. 


represented  as  passing  through  many  metamorphoses 
and  filling  all  regions  with  his  assumed  forms.  While  he 
discourses  on  doctrine  his  foot  rests  on  nine  beautiful 
birds.  Thirty-six  generals  wait  on  him  for  orders.  A 
certain  celebrated  book  of  instruction  is  said  to  have 
emanated  from  him.  His  commands  are  swift  as  winds 
and  fire.  He  overcomes  demons  by  the  power  of  his 
wisdom,  and  he  is  the  father  and  teacher  of  all  living 
beines.  Amonsf  other  like  deities  are  "  the  Mother  of 
Lightning,"  "  the  Spirit  of  the  Sea,"  "  the  King  of  the 
Sea,"  and  "  the  Lord  of  the  Tide."  The  temples  of  the 
Dragon  King  are  also  favorite  resorts  of  worshipers,  who 


CARRYING  THE  DRAGON. 


in  all  convulsions  of  nature  recognize  the  agency  of  this 
potent  and  amphibious  monster.  Serpents  are  looked 
upon  as  manifestations  of  this  deity,  and  in  times  of  flood 
often  receive  worship  at  the  hands  of  the  educated  and 
the  uneducted  alike.  During  the  flood  which  overspread 
the  country  round  Tientsin,  in  the  year  1874,  a  serpent 
sought  shelter  in  a  temple  near  the  city,  and  ensconced 
himself  beneath  one  of  the  altars.     Far  from  desirinof  to 


THE  TAO  1ST  SACRED  BOOKS  AND  GODS. 


437 


get  rid  of  the  intruder,  the  priests  welcomed  it  as  a  sa- 
cred guest  of  good  omen,  and  Li-Hung-chang,  the  viceroy 
27 


438 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


CHARM  TO  WARD  OFF  EVIL 
SPIRITS  FROM  A  BRIDE. 


of  the  province,  came  in  person 
to  pay  reverence  to  it  as  the  per- 
sonification of  the  Dragon  King. 

THE    GOD    OF    LETTERS. 

Apart  from  these  more  gen- 
eral deities  are  gods  who  preside 
over  the  different  pursuits  and 
callings  of  men.  As  the  number 
of  deities  is  unlimited,  and  as  it 
is  obviously  to  the  interest  of 
the  priests  to  encourage  worship 
of  whatever  kind  at  their  tem- 
ples, there  has  never  been  any 
difficulty  in  adding  a  god  or  two 
to  the  Pantheon.  Thus  students  have  chosen  to  appropri- 
ate to  themselves  a  god,  who  is  supposed  to  watch  over  the 
literary  efforts  of  his  votaries. 
Wan-chang  te-keun,  or  the  god 
of  literature,  is,  according  to 
legend,  the  disembodied  spirit 
of  Chang  Chung,  an  official  ol 
the  Chow  Dynasty.  Under 
subsequent  dynasties,  he  ap- 
peared on  earth  in  the  persons 
of  men  renowned  for  their 
scholarship  and  virtue,  and 
finally,  under  the  Yuen  Dy- 
nasty, he  was  deified  under  the 
title  of  "Supporter  of  the  Yuen 
Dynasty,  diffuser  of  renovating 
influences,  Sze-luh  of  Wan 
chang,  God  and  Lord."  Such 
is  the  Chinese  conception. 


GOD  OF  THIEVES. 


THE  TAOIST  SACRED _  BOOKS  AND  GODS. 


439 


CHARMS. 

Dr.  Williams  says,  "  the  Chinese 
have  an  almost  infinite  variety  of 
superstitious  practices,  the  most  of 
which  are  of  a  deprecatory  rather 
than  an  Intercessory  character,  grow- 
ling out  of  their  belief  in  demons 
and  genii  who  trouble  or  help  the 
people.  It  may  be  said  that  most 
of  the  religious  acts  of  the  Chinese, 
especially  those  performed  in  tem- 
ples, are  Intended  to  avert  misfor- 
tune rather  than  supplicate  blessings. 
In  order  to  ward  off  mallo-nant  in- 
fluences,  amulets  are  worn  and 
charms  hung  up  by  persons  of  all 
rank.  Among  the  latter  are  money- 
swords,  made  of  coins  of  different 
monarchs  struno-  togfether  In  the 
form  of  a  dagger  ;  and  leaves  of  the 
sweet  flaq^  and  Artemisia  tied  In  a 
bundle,  or  a  sprig  of  peach-blossoms; 
the  first  Is  placed  near  beds,  the  lat- 
ter over  the  lintel,  to  drive  away 
demons.  Brass  mirrors  to  cure  mad 
people,  are  hung  up  by  the  rich  in 
their  halls,  and  figures  or  representa- 
tions of  the  unicorn,  of  gourds, 
of  tiger  claws,  etc.,  abound."       » 


SWORD  CHARM. 


KWAN-TE,    GOD    OF    WAR. 


Soldiers  worship  Kwan-te,  the  God  of  War,  who  when 
on  earth  bore  the  name  of  Kwan-yu.     In  early  life  he 


440 


^iVA'(0A"\9   CHAINS. 


:^jfetx:3^^-c^ 


carried  on  the  trade  of  sellinfr  bean-curd,  but  havinor  a 
soul  above  so  mean  a  calling,  and  the  times  in  which  he 

lived  being  favorable  to 
ambitious  enterprise,  he 
embarked  on  the  career 
of  a  soldier  of  fortune, 
and  won  for  himself  both 
honor  and  renown.  He 
lived  to  receive  the  title 
of  Baron,  but  being  en- 
trapped through  a  crafty 
enemy,  he  was  taken  and 
beheaded.  For  many 
centuries  his  name  re- 
mained embalmed  only 
in  history,  but  during  the 
twelfth  century  he  was 
made  a  o-od  under  the 
title  of  Chung-hun  Kung, 
"  the  Patriotic  and  Clever 
Duke,"  and  a  little  later  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of 
Prince.     Thus  gods  are  manufactured  by  pagan  nations. 

TSAI-SHIN,    THE    GOD    OF    RICHES. 

But  probably  no  god  is  worshiped  with  greater  fervor 
than  is  Tsai-shin,  the  God  of  Riches.  Though  the  pursuit 
of  riches  and  honor  is  discountenanced  by  all  tlie  leading 
Taoist  writers,  the  natural  desire  for  wealth  has  over- 
come all  religious  warnings  and  denunciations,  and  is  as 
strong  among  the  Taoists  of  China  as  among  the  most 
money-loving  nation  in  the  world.  No  god  can  boast 
more  temples  raised  to  his  honor  than  Tsai-shln.  Every 
trader  who  at  the  end  of  the  year  finds  the  balance  of 
his  accounts  in  his  favor  acknowledges  the  mercy  shown 


KWAN-TE,  GOD  OF  WAR. 


THE  TAOIST  SACRED  BOOKS  AND  GODS. 


441 


him  by  making  a  votive  offering  to  the  dispenser  of 
weakh,  and  he  who  fears  a  loss  attempts  to  propitiate  the 
god  whom  he  beheves  able  to  help  by  sacrifices  and  gifts. 


TAOIST    SUPERSTITIONS. 


There  is  nothing  distinctively  Taoist  in  the  worship  of 
these  gods  except  the  gross   superstition  which  accom- 


TAOISTS  CONSULTING  THE  ORACLES  AT  THE  MAGICIANS. 

panies  it,  and  it  is  evidence  of  the  present  very  degraded 
condition  of  Taoism  that,  whenever  a  popular  deity  has 
to  be  enthroned,  Taoist  priests  are  the  servitors  chosen 
to  wait  upon  his  shrine.     Combined  with   the   office  of 


442 


ERROR'S  CHAINS. 


guardian,  these  back-sliding  charlatans  ply  the  trades  of 
fortune-tellers,  prophets  and  doctors.      If    a  merchant 


wishes  to  know  whether  a  venture  will  turn  out  profita- 
bly or  the  reverse,  or  if  a  mother  wants  to  be  assured 
whether  her  infant's  future  is  to  lie  among  the  blessings 


THE  TAOIST  SACRED  BOOKS  AND  GODS. 


443 


of  office,  wealth  and  long  life,  or  to  be  accompanied  by 
poverty  and  misfortune,  they  betake  themselves  to  a 
Taoist  priest,  who,  well  versed  in  the  tricks  which  ape 
superhuman  knowledge,  returns  oracular  responses, 
which  satisfy,  for  the  time  being  at  least,  the  superstitious 
wants  of  the  applicants.  Nor  is  their  medical  advice 
based  on  any  surer  basis.  Dr. 
Gray,  in  his  recent  work  on 
China,  gives  the  following  de- 
scription of  an  incident  he  wit- 
nessed at  a  temple  in  Canton: 
"Whilst  I  was  visiting  one  of 
these  temples,  a  father  brought 
his  son  to  the  priests 
saying  that  the  child  was  pos- 
sessed of  a  devil.  Having  con- 
sulted the  idol,  the  priests  in- 
formed him  that  there  were  no 
fewer  than  five  devils  in  the 
body  of  his  son,  but  that  they 
were  prepared  to  expel  them  all 
on    the    payment  of  a   certain 


sum.     The  father  agreed.     The 


TALL  WHITE  DEVIL. 


child  was  then  placed  in  front 
of  the  altar,  and  on  the  ground 
near  his  feet  were  placed  five 
eggs,  into  which  the  priests  ad- 
jured the  devils  to  go.  As  soon  as  they  were  sup- 
posed to  have  entered  the  eggs,  the  chief  of  the  priests 
covered  them  over  with  an  earthenware  vase,  and  at 
the  same  time  sounded  a  loud  blast  upon  a  horn. 
When  the  vase  was  removed,  the  eggs,  by  a  trick  of 
legerdemain,  were  found  no  longer  on  the  ground  but  in 
the  vase.     The  priest  then  proceeded  to  uncover  his  arm, 


444 


ERROR'S   C//ATA'S. 


and  made  an  incision  with  a  lancet  on  the  fleshy  part. 
The  blood  which  flowed  from  the  wound  was  allowed  to 

mingle  with  a  small  quantity  of 
water  in  a  cup.  The  seal  of 
the  temple,  the  impression  of 
which  was  the  name  of  the 
idol,  was  then  dipped  into  the 
blood  and  stamped  upon  the 
wrists,  neck,  back  and  fore- 
head of  the  poor  heathen  child, 
who  was  sufferinof  from  an  at- 
tack  of  fever  and  ague." 

The  Chinese  believe  that 
when  disease  does  not  yield  to 
medical  treatment,  the  vitals  of  the  sick  and  suffering  one 
are  being  preyed  upon  by  an  evil  spirit;  the  physician  is 
cast  aside,  and  the  Taoist  priests  are  called  in,  to  exer- 
cise their  exorcising  powers.  One  can  scarcely  pass 
along  the  streets  of  a  Chinese  c)::y,  at  night,  without  find- 
ing these  priests  at  work.  Just  as  in  Japan,  one  may 
hear,  every  night,  the  beating  of  the  tom-tom  as  some 
priest  is  drumming  the  devil  out  of  some  poor  wretch's 
body. 


SHORT  BLACK  DEVIL. 


CONFUCIUS  AND  THE  CLASSICS. 


445 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

CONFUCIUS    AND    THE    CLASSICS. 

Confucius  !   Confucius  !     How  great  was  Confucius  ! 

Before  him  there  was  no  Confucius  ! 

Since  him  there  has  been  no  other. 

Confucius  !  Confucius  !     How  great  was  Confucius  ! 

ONE-THIRD  of  the  human  race  would  probably 
join  in  honoring  Confucius.  The  340,000,000  of 
Chinese  would,  without  doubt,  accept  the  senti- 
ment of  the  verse  at  the  head  of  this  chapter — taken 
from  a  popular  history  of  Confucius.  No  man  in  any 
country  has  left  so  decided  an  impression  on  his  country- 
men for  so  long  a  time  as  Confucius  has  left  upon  the 
Chinese.  He  was,  without  question,  a  great  man,  and 
was  wise  far  beyond  the  men  of  his  age.  His  sayings, 
writings  and  deeds  stand  out  above  those  of  his  country- 
men. He  found  the  moral  sense  and  reliirious  observ- 
ances  of  his  countrymen  very  much  debased  during  his 
time,  and  set  himself  to  reform  them  by  reviving  the  an- 
cient observances  and  teaching  the  highest  principles  of 
pure  morals  and  beneficent  government. 

THE    BACKGROUND   OF   THE    PICTURE. 

Before  looking  at  the  story  of  Confucius's  life  let  us 
pause  to  look  at  the  times  in  which  he  lived  and  his  sur- 
roundings. He  was  born  in  the  year  550  B.  C.  He  was 
*' a  transmitter  and  not  a  maker,"  as  he  said;  so  it  is 
important  that  we  should  see  what  there  was  for  him  to 


440 


ERKOR'S   CHAINS. 


transmit.  We  must  look  into  the  past  history  of  the 
Chinese  people,  into  their  traditions  and  habits,  and, 
above  all,  their  early  religion.  In  dim  antiquity  the  Chi- 
nese people  came  into  the  valley 
of  the  Yellow  River,  through 
Central  Asia,  from  the  west, 
which  was,  perhaps,  the  cradle  of 
the  race.  They  journeyed  across 
the  weary  wastes  of  the  Mongo- 
lian Desert  until  they  came  to 
the  fertile  plains  along  the  great 
Hwane  Ho.  The  mountains  were 
clad  with  forests.  By  the  regu- 
lar rains  and  fruitful  soil  the  la- 
bors of  the  people  were  rewarded 
by  abundant  harvest,  and  they 
gradually  took  possession  of  the 
land.  The  aboriginal  tribes  grad- 
ually yielded  to  their  superior 
prowess,  discipline  and  civilization.  Colonies  were 
planted  all  over  the  land  under  the  control  of  chieftains, 
or,  as  Mencius  calls  them,  "  Pastors  of  Men."  The  his- 
tory of  China,  down  to  about  2356  B.  C,  is  made  of 
legendary  stories.  With  this  period  the  "  Book  of  His- 
tory," which  Confucius  edited,  begins.  Dr.  R.  K.  Doug- 
lass, of  the  British  Museum,  thus  describes  the  reign  of 
the  two  first  emperors  and  the  religion  of  their  times : 

Anciently  there  was  an  Emperor  Yaou,  all-informed, 
intelligent,  accomplished  and  thoughtful ;  and  if  we  are 
to  accept  the  received  account  of  his  reign,  this  descrip- 
tion does  not  do  more  than  justice  to  his  character.  His 
first  care,  we  are  told,  was  to  advance  the  able  and  vir- 
tuous to  offices  in  the  State,  and  finally  he  united  and 
harmonized  the  myriad  States  of  the  Empire;  and,  lo ! 


TRADITIONAL  LIKENESS  OF 
CONFUCIUS. 


CONFUCIUS  AND  THE  CLASSICS.  ^.y 

the  black-haired  people  were  transformed.  He  ap- 
pointed astronomers  to  calculate  and  delineate  the  move- 
ments and  appearances  of  the  sun,  the  moon,  the  stars 
and  the  zodiacal  spaces;  and  he  then  determined  the 
four  seasons  and  the  length  of  the  year.  He  adopted 
intercalary  months,  and  the  calendar  he  arranged  is  that 
v;hich  is  still  in  use  in  China. 

On  the  death  of  Yaou,  Shun,  who  had  shared  his  throne 
for  some  years,  succeeded  as  sole  emperor.  Like  his 
predecessor,  he  was  profound,  wise,  accomplished  and 
intelligent.  He  was  mild,  respectful  and  quite  sin- 
cere. The  report  of  his  mysterious  virtue  was  heard  on 
high,  and  he  was  appointed  to  take  the  throne.  One  of 
his  first  public  acts,  after  having  still  further  perfected 
the  T.stronomical  calculations  of  Yaou,  was  to  sacrifice  to 
Shang-te,  the  Supreme  Ruler  or  God.  "  Thereafter,"  we 
are  told,  "  he  sacrificed  specially,  but  with  the  ordinary 
forms,  to  Shang-te ;  sacrificed  with  purity  and  reverence 
to  the  six  Honored  Ones;  offered  appropriate  sacrifice  to 
the  hills  and  rivers;  and  extended  his  worship  to  the 
hosts  of  spirits."  This  is  the  first  mention  we  have  in 
Chinese  history  of  religious  worship,  though  the  expres- 
sions used  plainly  imply  that  the  worship  of  Shang-te  at 
least,  had  previously  existed.  It  is  to  this  Supreme 
Beinof  that  all  the  hio-hest  forms  of  adoration  have  been 
oftered  in  all  ages.  By  His  decree  kings  were  made  and 
rulers  executed  judgment.  In  His  hands  were  the  issues 
of  life  and  death,  and  he  whom  He  blessed  was  blessed, 
and  he  whom  He  cursed,  was  cursed.  In  all  probability 
there  was  a  time  when  the  worship  of  Shang-te  was  the 
expression  of  the  pure  monotheistic  faith  of  the  Chinese. 
By  degrees,  however,  corruptions  crept  in,  and  though 
Shang-te  always  remained  the  supreme  object  of  venera- 
tion, they  saw  no  disloyalty  to  Him  in  rendering  homage 


448 


E^ROJi'S   CHAINS. 


to  the  powers  of  nature  which  they  learnt  to  personify, 
and  to  the  spirits  of  their  departed  ancestors,  who  were 
supposed  to  guard  and  watch  over,  in  a  subordinate  man- 
ner, the  welfare  of  their  descendants. 


MONUMENTAL  GATE-WAY  ERECTED  IX  HONOR  OF  CONFUCIUS. 

During  this  reign  the  empire  was  divided  into  twelve 
provinces,  and  ministers  of  agriculture,  crime,  works, 
forests,  religious  worship  and  of  music  were  appointed. 
That  the  standard  of  morality  was  high,  even  at  this  early 
period,  appears  from  the  conversations  which  are  reported 


CONFUCIUS  AND  THE  CLASSICS. 


449 


between  Shim's  vice-regent  Yu  and  one  of  his  advisers. 
In  answer  to  the  question  put  by  Yu :  "  What  are  the 
nine  virtues?"  the  minister  rephed:  "Affabihty combined 
with  dignity  ;  mildness  combined  with  firmness;  bluntness 
combined  with  respectfulness ;  aptness  for  government 
combined  with  reverence ;  docility  combined  with  bold- 
ness ;  straightforwardness  combined  with  gentleness ; 
easiness  combined  with  discrimination  ;  vigor  combined 
with  sincerity;  and  valor  combined  with  righteousness." 

THE    STORY    OF   THE    SAGE's    LIFE. 

Heih,  the  father  of  Confucius,  was  a  military  omcer  of 
great  bravery  and  immense  strength.  He  was  married 
to  Yen  Ching  Tsai,  Confucius's  mother,  when  he  was  sev- 
enty years  old.  Confucius,  the  child  of  this  aged  couple, 
was  born,  so  the  legends  say,  in  a  cave  in  Mount  Ne. 
The  legends  tell  how  his  birth  was  heralded  by  strange 
signs  and  appearances,  how  fairies  attended  the  birth  of 
him  of  whose  coming  Yen  Ching  Tsai  had  been  warned  by 
genii.  While  he  was  yet  a  boy,  he  loved  to  play  in  ar- 
ranging the  vessels  of  the  temple-worship,  and  listened 
earnestly  to  the  stories  of  the  reigns  of  Yaou  and  Shun. 
When  fifteen  years  old,  he  gave  himself  to  more  earnest 
study,  and  when  nineteen  he  was  married.  His  married 
life  was  unhappy,  and  after  a  year  or  so  he  was  divorced 
from  his  wife.  Soon  after  this,  being  very  poor,  he  ac- 
cepted the  office  of  keeper  of  the  stores  of  grain,  and  in 
the  next  year  he  became  the  guardian  of  the  public  fields 
and  lands.  When  twenty-two  years  old,  Confucius  gave 
up  his  offices  and  became  the  teacher  of  an  earnest  band 
of  students.  He  refused  to  teach  dull  or  idle  scholars.  He 
said :  "I  do  not  open  the  truth  to  one  who  is  not  eager 
after  knowledge,  nor  do  I  help  any  one  who  is  not  him- 
self anxious   to  explain.     When  I  have  presented  one 


AgQ  EHROR'S  CHAINS. 

corner  of  a  subject,  and  the  listener  cannot  from  it  learn 
the  other  three,  I  do  not  repeat  my  lesson."  When 
twenty-eight  years  of  age,  Confucius  studied  archery,  and 
in  the  next  few  years  studied  music  under  the  celebrated 
music-master,  Siang.  The  master  directed  his  pupil  to 
learn  the  air  composed  by  the  sage  Wan  Wang  of  an- 
cient days.  Confucius  at  once  took  the  lute,  and  in  obe- 
dience to  Slang's  instructions,  commenced  to  play  the 
air.     He  continued  it  day  by  day. 

"  Five  days  went  by,  and  still  Confucius 
Played  all  day  long  the  ancient  simple  air ; 
And  when  Siang  would  teach  him  more  he  said  : 
'  Not  yet,  my  master,  I  would  seize  the  thought, 
The  subtle  thought  which  hides  within  the  tune.' 
.  To  which  the  master  answered  :      *  It  is  well. 
Take  five  days  more  !'     And  when  the  time  was  passed 
Unto  Siang  thus  spoke  Confucius: 
'  I  do  begin  to  see,  and  yet  what  I  see 
Is  very  dim.     I  am  as  one  who  looks,  ' 

And  nothing  sees  except  a  luminous  cloud  ; 
Give  me  but  five  more  days,  and  at  the  end, 
If  I  have  not  attained  the  great  idea 
Hidden  of  old  within  the  melody, 
I  will  leave  music  as  beyond  my  power.' 
'  Do  as  thou  wilt,  O  pupil !'  cried  Siang 
In  deepest  admiration  ;   '  never  yet 
Had  I  a  scholar  who  was  like  to  thee. 
And  on  the  fifteenth  day  Confucius  rose 
And  stood  before  Siang,  and  cried  aloud  : 
'  The  mist  which  shadowed  me  is  blown  away ; 
I  am  as  one  who  stands  upon  a  cliff. 
And  gazes  far  and  wide  upon  the  world. 
For  I  have  mastered  every  secret  thought. 
Yea,  every  shadow  of  a  feeling  dim 
Which  flitted  through  the  spirit  of  Wan  Wang 
When  he  composed  that  air.     I  speak  to  him, 
I  hear  him  clearly  answer  me  again  ; 
And  more  than  that,  I  see  his  very  form : 


CONFUCIUS  AND  THE  CLASSICS.  ^c  I 

A  man  of  middle  stature,  with  a  hue 

Half  blended  with  the  dark  and  with  the  fair ; 

His  features  long,  and  large  sweet  eyes  which  beam 

With  great  benevolence — a  noble  face  ! 

His  voice  is  deep  and  full,  and  all  his  air 

Inspires  a  sense  of  virtue  and  of  love. 

I  know  that  I  behold  the  very  man, 

The  sage  of  ancient  days,  Wan  Wang  the  just.' 

"  Then  good  Siang  lay  down  upon  the  dust, 
And  said :   '  Thou  art  my  master.     Even  thus 
The  ancient  legend,  known  to  none  but  me, 
Describes  our  first  great  sire.     And  thou  hast  seen 
That  which  I  never  yet  myself  beheld. 
Though  I  have  played  the  sacred  song  for  years. 
Striving  with  all  my  soul  to  penetrate 
Its  mystery  unto  the  master's  form. 
Whilst  thou  hast  reached  it  at  a  single  bound  ; 
Henceforth  the  gods  alone  can  teach  thee  tune.'  " 

Now,  at  the  age  of  thirty,  he  became  famous.  Many 
youths,  sons  of  nobles,  became  his  wilhng  scholars.  At  this 
time  he  visited  Lao-tsze,  the  founder  of  Taoism.  While 
in  the  capital,  where  Lao-tsze  lived,  he  entered  an  old 
temple  where  he  found  a  metal  statue  of  a  man  with  a 
triple  clasp  upon  his  mouth.  On  the  back  of  the  statue 
were  engraved  the  words:  "The  ancients  were  guarded  in 
their  speech,  and  like  them  we  should  avoid  loquacity. 
Many  words  invite  many  defeats.  Avoid  also  engaging  in 
many  businesses,  for  many  businesses  create  many  diffi- 
culties." "Observe  this,  my  children,"  said  the  sage  to  his 
disciples.  "These  words  are  true,  and  commend  them- 
selves to  our  reason." 

He  visited  various  great  cities  and  courts  of  emperors, 
and  everywhere  was  received  with  honor.  Confucius  was 
saddened  by  the  sight  of  so  much  disorder.  Soon  after 
writing  the  "Book  of  Odes"  and  the  "Book  of  History," 
he  became  magistrate  of  the  town  of  Chung-Too.     He 


452 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


now  had  an  opportunity  of  putting  his  principles  of  gov- 
ernment to  the  test,  and  the  result  partly  justified  his 
expectations.  He  framed  rules  for  the  support  of  the 
living,  and  for  the  observance  of  rites  for  the  dead ;  he 
arranged  appropriate  food  for  the  old  and  the  young ; 
and  he  provided  for  the  proper  separation  of  men  and 
women.  And  the  results  were,  we  are  told,  that  any- 
thing dropped  on  the  road  was  not  picked  up  ;  there  was 
no  fraudulent  carving  of  vessels ;  coffins  were  made  of  the 
ordained  thickness ;  graves  were  unmarked  by  mounds 
raised  over  them  ;  and  no  two  prices  were  charged  in  the 
markets.  The  duke,  surprised  at  what  he  saw,  asked 
the  sage  whether  his  rule  of  government  could  be  applied 
to  the  whole  State.  "  Certainly,"  replied  Confucius,  "and 
not  only  to  the  State  of  Loo,  but  to  the  whole  empire." 
Forthwith,  therefore,  the  duke  made  him  Assistant  Super- 
intendent of  Works,  and  shortly  afterwards  appointed  him 
Minister  of  Crime.  Here,  again,  his  success  was  com- 
plete. As  soon  as  he  was  appointed  he  began  to  carry 
the  laws  into  effect  by  punishing  high-handed  criminals 
and  ere  long  good  government  resumed  its  sway. 

Though  eminently  successful,  the  results  obtained  un- 
der his  system  were  not  quite  such  as  his  followers  have 
represented  them  to  have  been.  No  doubt  crime  dimin- 
ished under  his  rule,  but  it  was  by  no  means  abolished. 
In  fact,  his  biographers  mention  a  case  which  must  have 
been  peculiarly  shocking  to  him.  A  father  brought  an 
accusation  against  his  son,  in  the  expectation,  probably, 
of  gaining  his  suit  with  ease  before  a  judge  who  laid  such 
stress  on  the  virtues  of  filial  piety.  But  to  his  surprise, 
and  that  of  the  on  lookers,  Confucius  cast  both  father 
and  son  into  prison,  and  to  the  remonstrance  of  the  head 
of  the  Ke-clan  answered:  "Am  I  to  punish  for  a  breach 
of  filial  piety  one  who  has  never  been  taught  to  be  filially- 


CONFUCIUS  AND  THE  CLASSICS. 


455 


minded  ?  Is  not  he  who  neglects  to  teach  his  son  filial 
duties,  equally  guilty  with  his  son  who  fails  in  them? 
Crime  is  not  inherent  in  human  nature,  and  therefore  the 
father  in  the  family,  and  the  government  in  the  State  are 
responsible  for  the  crimes  committed  against  filial  piety 
and  the  public  laws.  If  a  king  is  careless  about  publish- 
ing laws,  and  then  peremptorily  punishes  in  accordance 
with  the  strict  letter  of  them,  he  acts  the  part  of  a  swind- 
ler; if  he  collect  the  taxes  arbitrarily  without  giving 
warning,  he  is  guilty  of  oppression  ;  and  if  he  puts  the 
people  to  death  without  having  instructed  them,  he  com- 
mits a  cruelty." 

Confucius  had  great  faith  in  the  power  of  example. 
He  could  not  carry  out  all  his  schemes  nor  always  adhere 
to  his  rules.  Yet  the  people  rejoiced  in  his  rule,  and  at 
their  work  sang  songs,  describing  him  as  their  saviour 
from  oppression  and  injustice.  The  tendencies  of  the 
times  were  against  the  enthusiastic  reformer,  yet  he 
struggled  on.  After  he  was  dismissed  from  office  in  Loo 
he  became  the  counselor  of  princes.  He  went  from 
State  to  State,  and  ruler  to  ruler,  until  he  was  sixty-nine 
years  old.  He  never  lost  confidence  in  himself  or  in  his 
mission.  One  morning,  in  the  spring  of  the  year  478 
B.  C,  he  walked  in  front  of  his  door,  saying : 

"  The  great  mountain  must  crumble  ;■ 
The  strong  beam  must  break, 
And  the  wise  man  withers  away  like  a  plant." 

He  was  now  without  honor  among  the  princes.  As  he 
said,  "  No  intelligent  monarch  arises  ;  there  is  not  one  in 
the  empire  who  will  make  me  his  master.  My  time  is 
come  to  die."  That  same  day  he  took  to  his  bed,  and 
after  a  week's  sickness  he  died.  He  was  buried  with 
great  tokens  of  respect  by  his  disciples. 


456 


ERJiOR'S   CHAINS. 


TEACHINGS  AND  WRITINGS  OF  THE  CHINESE  SAGE. 


No  man,  probably,  has  been  treated  with  so  much  con- 
tempt during  his  hfetime,  and  with  so  much  veneration 
after  his  death,  as  Confucius.  His  Hfe  was  a  standing 
protest  against  the  iniquities  of  his  time.  The  teachings 
of  Confucius  are  contained  in  three  thin  volumes,  called 
the  Lun  Yu,  or  "Confucian  Analects;"  the  Ta  Hioh,  or 
*' Great  Learning;"  and  the  Chung  Yung,  or '' Doctrine 
of  the  Mean."  Confucius  also  edited  the  Yeh  King,  or 
"Book  of  Changes  ;"  the  She  King,  or  "  Book  of  Odes ;" 
and  the  Shoo  King,  or  "  Book  of  History."  He  derided 
spiritual  teaching,  did  not  refer  to  the  future  life,  and  had 
little  to  say  about  the  gods.  As  to  where  man  came 
from,  or  where  he  was  going,  Confucius  was  never 
troubled.  He  taught,  man  is  master  of  his  own  happi- 
ness and  destiny.  He  might,  by  his  own  efforts,  become 
the  equal  of  heaven.  As  to  morals  and  good  govern- 
ment Confucius's  teachings  rank  high.  He  was  really  a 
Statesman  and  Reformer,  rather  than  a  Religious  Teacher. 
Some  selections  from  his  three  books  will  be  of  use  as 
illustrating  the  style  and  substance  of  his  teachings: 

THE    WISDOM    OF    THE    SAGE. 

"  Is  he  not  a  man  of  complete  virtue  who  feels  no  dis- 
composure, though  men  may  take  no  note  of  him  ?" 

Tsang,  the  philosopher,  said,  "  I  daily  examine  myself 
on  three  points — whether,  in  transacting  business  for 
others,  I  may  have  been  not  faithful ;  whether,  in  inter- 
course with  friends,  I  may  have  been  not  sincere  ;  whether 
I  may  have  not  mastered  and  practiced  the  instructions 
of  my  teacher." 

The  Master  said,  "  He  who  aims  to  be  a  man  of  com- 
plete virtue,  in   his   food   does   not  seek   to   gratify  his 


CONFUCIUS  AND  THE  CLASSICS. 


457 


appetite,  nor  in  his  dwelling-place  does  he  seek  the 
appliances  of  ease ;  he  is  earnest  in  what  he  is  doing, 
and  careful  in  his  speech ;  he  frequents  the  company  of 
men  of  principle,  that  he  may  be  rectified.  Such  a  per- 
son may  be  said,  indeed,  to  love  to  learn." 

The  Master  said,  "  I  will  not  be  afflicted  at  men's  not 
knowinsf  me  ;  I  will  be  afflicted  that  I  do  not  know  men." 

The  Master  said,  "At  fifteen,  I  had  my  mind  bent  on 
learning. 

"At  thirty,  I  stood  firm. 

"At  forty,  I  had  no  doubts. 

"At  fifty,  I  knew  the  decrees  of  Heaven. 

"At  sixty,  my  ear  was  an  obedient  organ/or  the  recep- 
tion of  truth. 

"At  seventy,  I  could  follow  what  my  heart  desired, 
without  transgressing  what  was  right." 

The  Master  said,  "  The  superior  man  is  catholic  and 
no  partisan  ;  the  mean  man  is  a  partisan  and  no  catholic." 

The  Master  said,  "  Learning  without  thought  is  labor 
lost ;  thought  without  learning  is  perilous." 

The  Master  said,  "  For  a  man  to  sacrifice  to  a  spirit 
which  does  not  belong  to  him  is  flattery. 

"  To  see  what  is  right,  and  not  to  do  it,  is  want  of  courage." 

The  Master  said,  "A  man  should  say,  '  I  am  not  con- 
cerned that  I  have  no  place ;  I  am  concerned  how  I  may 
fit  myself  for  one.  I  am  not  concerned  that  I  am  not 
known  ;  I  seek  to  be  worthy  to  be  known.'  " 

The  Master  said,  "The  reason  why  the  ancients  did 
not  readily  give  utterance  to  their  words  was  that  they 
feared  lest  their  actions  should  not  come  up  to  them." 

Tsae  Yu,  being  asleep  during  the  daytime,  the  Master 
said,  "  Rotten  wood  cannot  be  carved ;  a  wall  of  dirty 
earth  will  not  receive  the  trowel.  This  Yu  ! — what  is  the 
use  of  my  reproving  him  ?" 


458 


ERUOJ^'S   CHAINS. 


The  Master  said,  "  I  have  not  seen  a  firm  and  unbend- 
ing man."  Some  one  repHed,  "  There  is  Shin  Ch'ang." 
*'  Ch'ang,"  said  the  Master,  "  is  under  the  influence  of  his 
lusts;  how  can  he  be  firm  and  unbending?" 

Tsze-kung  said,  "  What  I  do  not  wish  men  to  do  to 
me,  I  also  wish  not  to  do  to  men."  The  Master  said, 
"  Tsze,  you  have  not  attained  to  that." 

The  Master  said,  "  Not  to  do  to  others  as  you  would 
not  wish  done  to  yourself." 

Tsze-kung  asked,  saying,  "  is  there  one  word  which 
may  serve  as  a  rule  of  practice  for  all  one's  life  ?"  The 
Master  said,  "  Is  not  reciprocity  such  a  word  ?  What  you 
do  not  want  done  to  yourself,  do  not  do  to  others." 

"When  one  cultivates  to  the  utmost  the  principles  of 
his  nature,  and  exercises  them  on  the  principle  of  reci- 
procity, he  is  not  far  from  the  path.  What  you  do  not 
like,  when  done  to  yourself,  do  not  do  to  others." 

Tsze-loo  said,  "  I  should  like,  sir,  to  hear  your  wishes." 
The  Master  said,  "They  are,  in  regard  to  the  aged,  to 
give  them  rest ;  in  regard  to  friends,  to  show  them  sin- 
cerity; in  regard  to  the  young,  to  treat  them  tenderly." 

The  Master  said,  "Admirable,  indeed,  was  the  virtue 
of  Hwuy !  With  a  single  bamboo  dish  of  rice,  a  single 
gourd  dish  of  drink,  and  living  in  his  mean,  narrow  lane, 
while  others  could  not  have  endured  the  distress,  he  did 
not  allow  his  joy  to  be  affected  by  it.  Admirable,  indeed, 
was  the  virtue  of  Hwuy  !" 

The  Master  said,  "They  who  know  the  truth  are  not 
equal  to  those  who  love  it ;  and  they  who  love  it  are  not 
equal  to  those  who  find  delight  in  it." 

The  Master  was  mild,  and  yet  dignified  ;  majestic,  and 
yet  not  fierce  ;  respectful,  and  yet  easy. 

Tsang  said,  "  When  a  bird  is  about  to  die,  its  notes  are 
mournful ;  when  a  man  is  about  to  die,  his  words  are  good." 


CONFUCIUS  AND   THE  CLASSICS. 


459 


Confucius,  in  his  village,  looked  simple  and  sincere, 
and  as  if  he  were  one  who  was  not  able  to  speak. 

Tsze-loo  asked  about  government.  The  Master  said, 
"Go  before  the  people  with  your  example,  and  be  labo- 
rious in  their  affairs." 

The  Master  said,  "  The  progress  of  the  superior  man 
is  upwards  ;  the  progress  of  the  mean  man  is  downwards." 

The  Master  said,  "  In  ancient  times,  men  learned  with 
a  view  to  their  own  improvement.  Nowadays,  men  learn 
with  a  view  to  the  approbation  of  others." 


46o 


ERROR'S   CHAINS, 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 


A 


.^s-^'*^.^^ 


CONFUCIAN    TEMPLES    AND    WORSHIP. 

The  Emperor  plowing  in  the  Sacred  Field, 
What  time  the  New  Year  comes  in  solemn  state. 

Richard  Henry  Stoddard. 

MONG  the  prominent  objects  of  worship  in  China, 
may  be  specified  Shang-te,  who  is  alone  wor- 
shiped by  the  Emperor;  the  worship  of  Con- 
fucius ;  and  that  of  the  spirits  of  deceased  ancestors  among 
the  common  people.  Besides  these,  there  is  a  host  of. 
deities  who  receive  worship  with  the  host  of  spirits  who 
are  dreaded  and  who  may  be  propitiated  by  worship. 
The  tenets  of  Confucius  have  been  generally  regarded 

as  a  system  of  religion  and 
and  have  received  the  name 
of  "Confucianism"  among 
the  Western  authors.  His- 
precepts  form  the  basis  of 
morals,  but  in  the  worship 
of  Shang-te  by  the  Empe- 
ror, who  is  at  the  head  of 
the  system,  he  in  person  can 
alone  officiate  at  the  most 
important  ceremonies.  At 
the  same  time  that  he  wor- 
ships Shang-te  he  unites 
the  worship  of  Confucius  with  it  on  the  great  altar  of 
heaven  in  Peking.     The  homage  of  Confucius  enters  into 


CHINESE  SCHOOLBOYS. 


CONFUCIAN  TEMPLES  AND   WORSHIP. 


461 


the  daily  life  of  all  students.  In  every  school-room  there 
is  a  tablet,  containing  the  name  of  the  sage,  before  which 
every  scholar  makes  his  bow  when  he  enters  the  room. 
A  missionary  thus  describes  the  worship  paid  to  him : 

As  there  is  no  image  of  Confucius  for  use  on  such  oc- 
casions, a  slip  of  red  paper,  of  only  a  few  inches  in  length, 
on  which  has  been  written  in  black  ink  an  expression 
meaning  "  The  Teacher  and  Patter7t  for  10,000  ages,''  is 
put  upon  the  wall  of  the  school-room.  In  front  of  this  is 
placed  a  table,  having  upon  it  a  censer  and  a  pair  of  can- 
dlesticks. When  everything  is 
ready  the  teacher,  having  first 
lighted  and  put  in  the  censer 
three  sticks  of  incense,  and  in 
the  candlesticks  a  couple  of 
candles,  kneels  down  before  the 
table,  and  placing  his  hands  on 
the  floor,  bows  his  head  toward 
the  earth  slowly  and  reverently 
three  times.  He  then  arises, 
and  one  of  his  pupils  takes  his 
place  before  the  table,  and 
kneels  down,  making  the  same 
number  of  bowings  in  the  same 
manner.  Another  pupil  now 
takes  the  place,  and  performs 
the  same  ceremony  ;  and  so  on  ^"^^^^'^  joss-stick. 

till  all  have  engaged  in  the  worship  of  the  sage.  After 
this,  the  food  which  is  to  be  consumed  in  the  feast  is 
placed  on  the  table  before  the  inscription  to  Confucius, 
where  it  remains  a  short  time.  It  is  then  removed  to 
another  table,  or  tables,  around  which  the  teacher  and 
his  pupils  gather  and  partake  of  it.  Before  the  feast  the 
teacher  usually  presents  to  each  one  of  his  pupils  a  white 


462 


EJiROR'S   CHAINS. 


paper  fan,  on  which  he  sometimes  writes  a  quotation 
from  the  classics,  or  a  favorite  stanza  of  poetry.  Be- 
sides this,  he  provides  a  number  of  toys,  equal  to  the 
number  of  his  pupils,  each  representing  a  graduate  of 
the  first,  second  or  third  literary  degrees,  which  are  dis- 
tinguishable by  the  shape  and  color  of  their  dresses.  It 
is  decided  by  the  throwing  of  dice  in  what  order  the 
pupils  shall  choose  these  toys.  These  toys  are  valued 
as  an  omen  for  good,  or  rather  as  an  index  of  the  success 
in  study  which  each  may  hope  to  attain.  It  is  often  an 
interesting  and  excitinof  time  amonp-  the  members  of  a 
school. 

On  a  Chinese  youth  entering  a  school  as  pupil  for  die 
first  time  in  any  year,  he  is  expected  to  bring  with  him 
two  small  candles,  a  few  sticks  of  incense,  and  a  small 
quantity  of  mock-money,  which  are  to  be  lighted  and 
consumed  before  a  slip  of  paper,  having  some  title  of 
Confucius  written  upon  it,  the  pupil  making  the  usual 
prostration  before  it  after  these  things  have  been  lighted 
and  while  they  are  being  consumed.  This  is  called  "  en- 
tering school,"  or  "  worshiping  the  sage."  One  morning, 
some  six  years'  ago,  a  lad,  dressed  in  his  best  clothes, 
marched  into  a  free-school  under  the  charge  of  a  mis- 
sionary, carrying,  beside  his  books,  three  sticks  of  in- 
cense, two  small  candles,  and  a  few  sheets  of  mock- 
money,  designed,  in  accordance  with  established  usage, 
as  an  offerino-  to  the  Chinese  saofe.  It  seemed  that  the 
teacher  had  neglected  to  inform  his  parents  that  in  the 
mission  school  the  sage  was  not  worshiped.  The  lad 
was  quietly  told  that  the  articles  he  had  brought  would 
not  be  used,  inasmuch  as  those  who  studied  the  books 
of  Jesus  did  not  burn  incense  in  honor  of  Confucius. 
Thus  from  earliest  childhood  the  youth  of  China  are 
taught  to  reverence  their  great  countryman,  Confucius. 


CONFUCIAN  TEMPLES  AND   WORSHIP.  46^ 

THE    WORSHIP   OF    SHANG-TE,  AT    PEKING. 

Notwithstanding  the  silence  of  Confucius  on  the  sub- 
ject of  Shang-te,  his  worship  has  been  maintained,  not, 
perhaps,  in  its  original  purity,  but  with  marks  of  rever- 
ence which  place  its  object  on  the  highest  pinnacle  of  the 
Chinese  Pantheon.  At  the  present  day,  the  imperial 
worship  of  Shang-te,  on  the  round  hillock  to  the  south  of 
the  city  of  Peking,  is  surrounded  with  all  the  solemnity 
of  which  such  an  occasion  is  capable.  The  altar  is  a 
beautiful  marble  structure,  ascended  by  twenty-seven 
steps :  a  balustrade  surrounds  each  terrace.  On  the 
upper  of  these  three  terraces  are  five  tables  or  altars,  on 
which  the  offerings  to  Shang-te  are  laid.  This  is  the 
-central  point  of  attraction  in  this  whole  inclosure  of  a 
square  mile,  which  contains  thousands  of  beautiful  trees 
and  many  subordinate  buildings.  On  another  terrace 
stands  a  magnificent  triple-roofed  circular  structure, 
ninety-nine  feet  in  height,  which  constitutes  the  most  con- 
spicuous object  of  the  whole.  On  the  day  before  the 
annual  sacrifices  at  the  Winter  Solstice,  the  Emperor 
proceeds  to  the  Hall  of  Fasting,  on  the  west  side  of  the 
south  altar.  Here  he  spends  the  night  in  watching  and 
meditation,  after  first  inspecting  the  offerings.  The  tab- 
lets to  the  Supreme  Ruler  of  Heaven  {i.  e.,  Shang-te,) 
and  to  the  Emperor's  ancestors  are  preserved  in  the 
chapel  at  the  back  of  each  altar.  There  are  no  images. 
Both  these  chapels  are  circular,  and  covered  with  blue 
glazed  tiles.  The  south  altar,  the  most  important  of  all 
Chinese  religious  structures,  has  the  following  dimen- 
sions. It  consists  of  a  triple  circular  terrace,  210  feet 
wide  at  the  base,  1 50  in  the  middle,  and  90  at  the  top. 
The  heights  of  the  three  terraces,  upper,  middle  and 
lower,  are   5^   feet,  b%   feet,  and   5  feet  respectively. 


464 


ERROR'S   CHAINS, 


At  the  time  of  sacrificing,  the  tablets  to  Heaven  and  to 
the  Emperor's  ancestors  are  placed  on  the  top ;  they 
are  two  feet  five  inches  long  and  five  inches  wide.  The 
title  is  in  gilt  letters ;  that  of  Heaven  faces  the  south,  and 
those  of  the  ancestors  east  and  west.  The  Emperor, 
with  his  immediate  suite,  kneels  in  front  of  the  tablet  to 
Shang-te,  and  faces  the  north.  The  platform  is  laid  with 
marble  stones,  forming  nine  concentric  circles.  The 
inner  circle  consists  of  nine  stones,  cut  so  as  to  fit  with 
close  edges  round  the  central  stone,  which  is  a  perfect 
circle.  Here  the  Emperor  kneels,  and  is  surrounded 
first  by  the  circles  of  the  terraces  and  their  inclosing 
walls,  and  then  by  the  circle  of  the  horizon.  He  thus 
seems  to  himself  and  his  court  to  be  in  the  centre  of  the 
universe  ;  and,  turning  to  the  north,  assuming  the  attitude 
of  a  subject,  he  acknowledges  in  prayer  and  by  his  posi- 
tion that  he  is  inferior  to  Heaven,  and  to  Heaven  alone. 
Round  him,  on  the  pavement,  are  the  nine  circles  of  as 
many  heavens,  consisting  of  nine  stones,  then  eighteen, 
then  twenty-seven,  and  so  on  in  successive  multiples  of 
nine  till  the  square  of  nine,  the  favorite  number  of  Chi- 
nese philosophy,  is  reached  in  the  outermost  circle  of 
eighty-one  stones.  As  might  be  expected,  careful  dis- 
tinctions are  made  in  the  sacrifices.  The  animals  ordi- 
narily used  for  food  by  the  ancient  Chinese,  and  the 
fruits  of  the  earth  known  to  them,  are  almost  all  included. 
But  productions  recently  introduced  into  the  country  are 
not  offered.  To  Heaven  alone  is  offered  a  piece  of  blue 
jade,  cylindrical  in  shape  and  a  foot  long,  formerly  used 
as  a  symbol  of  sovereignty.  But  the  great  distinguish- 
ing sign  of  superiority  is  the  offering  of  a  whole  burnt 
sacrifice  to  Heaven. 

After  the  same  style  of  building,  and  used  as  a  part  of 
the  worship  of  Heaven  and  earth,  is  the  Temple  of  the 


CONFUCIAN  TEMPLES  AND   WORSHIP. 


467 


Sun,  at  Peking.  This  temple  has  been  dedicated  by  the 
Chinese  to  the  sun  as  the  great  source  of  Hght  and  heat, 
and  it  has  been  put  under  the  protection  of  the  god  of 
fire.  Farmers  frequent  this  temple  in  dull,  cold  weather, 
to  pray  for  the  sunshine  to  ripen  their  grain  and  fruit, 
and  the  people  generally  pray  to  this  god  for  protection 
against  fire.  The  fourth  day  of  every  month  is  a  high 
day  at  this  temple,  and  it  is  then  crowded  with  wor- 
shipers. On  this  day,  a  band  of  music  is  provided,  and, 
in  addition  to  the  ordinary  priests  of  the  temple,  extra 
priests  go  about  swinging  incense,  and  conducting  many 
other  imposing  services. 

In  the  spring  of  every  year,  the  Chinese  pay  great 
honors  to  agriculture.  The  Emperor  proceeds  to  the 
park  surrounding  the  Temple  of  Agriculture,  at  Peking, 
and  in  a  plot  of  ground  reserved  for  the  purpose,  and  in 
the  presence  of  the  grandees  of  the  empire,  he  guides  the 
imperial  plow,  and  uses  the  seed-planter,  rake,  etc. 

After  this,  the  Emperor  and  the  attendant  princes  and 
officials  proceed  to  the  Temple  of  Agriculture,  which  is 
dedicated  to  Shin-nung,  or  the  "  Divine  Husbandman," 
the  fabulous  originator  of  the  art.  Here  bullocks,  swine 
and  sheep  are  offered  in  sacrifice,  and  prayers  made  to 
Shin-nung,  and  also  to  the  god  of  the  land,  the  grain,  the- 
ocean,  the  wind,  the  thunder  and  the  rain. 

Similar  plowing  and  worshiping  are  performed  by  the 
leading  mandarins  near  the  south  gates  of  all  the  princi- 
pal cities  of  the  empire,  after  which  the  mandarins  mount 
a  platform,  and  calling  around  them  the  principal  farmers 
of  the  vicinity,  exhort  them  to  the  proper  discharge  of 
their  duties  as  husbandmen.  At  the  close  of  the  ad- 
dresses, they  present  to  each  of  the  farmers,  who  have 
been  selected  to  receive  them,  certain  presents  or  medals 
in  the  name  of  the  Emperor,  in  order  to  encourage  them. 


468 


EEJiOJi'S   CHAINS. 


Apart  from  the  idolatrous  worship,  this  conduct  of  the 
Emperor  and  his  officials  is  very  praiseworthy;  but  it  is 
sad  to  know  that  while  "  God  has  not  left  Himself  with- 
out witness  amon^them  in  that  He  does  good,  and  sends 


TEMPLE  OF  AGRICULTURE,  AT  PEKING,  CHINA. 

them  rain  and  fruitful  seasons,  filling  their  hearts  with 
food  and  gladness,"  they  yet  do  not  recognize  His  exist- 
ence and  beneficence,  but  give  His  glory  to  others,  and 
His  praise  to  graven  images. 


CONFUCIAN  TEMPLES  AND   WORSHIP  ^y  i 


TEMPLE    TO    CONFUCIUS. 

The  most  important  and  sacred  temple  is  that  adjoin- 
ing the  tomb  of  Confucius  in  Shantung,  on  which  all  the 
art  of  the  Chinese  architecture  has  been  lavished.  The 
main  building  consists  of  two  stories,  the  upper  veranda 
surrounding  which  "  rests  on  gorgeous  marble  pillars, 
twenty-two  feet  high,  and  about  two  feet  in  diameter, 
which  at  a  distance  appear  as  if  huge  dragons  were  coiled 
around  them  and  hanging  from  the  top.  The  tiles  of 
the  roof  are  of  yellow,  as  in  Peking,  and  the  ornamenta- 
tion under  the  eaves  is  covered  with  wire-work  to  keep 
it  from  the  birds.  Inside  the  building  is  the  image  or 
statue  of  Confucius,  in  a  gorgeously-curtained  shrine, 
holding  in  his  hand  a  slip  of  bamboo,  such  as  was  used 
for  writing  upon  in  his  days.  The  statue  is  about 
eighteen  feet  by  six  feet,  and  is  life-like.  Confucius  was 
strong,  tall  and  well-built,  with  a  full  red  face,  and  large 
and  heavy  head.  On  the  tablet  is  the  simple  inscription, 
•The  most  Holy  prescient  Sage  Confucius.  His  Spirit's 
resting-place.'  On  the  east  side  are  images  of  his  favor- 
ite disciples,  arranged  according  to  the  estimation  in 
which  he  is  said  to  have  held  them.  The  ceiling  of  the 
building  is  crowded  with  tablets,  hung  up  in  honor  of  the 
sage,  each  vying  with  another  in  extravagant  praise. 
Before  him  and  also  before  his  disciples,  were  the  usual 
frames  for  sacrifices,  and  in  front  of  these,  beautiful  in- 
cense-pots, beside  them  were  several  most  Interesting 
relics,  such  as  vases,  said  to  be  of  the  Shang  Dynasty, 
B.  C.  1610,  the  work  of  which  was  superb.  There  were 
also  two  bronze  elephants,  reported  to  be  of  the  Chow 
Dynasty,  and  a  table  of  that  same  era  of  dark  red-wood. 

"On  the  west  side  are  two  temples;  one  in  front,  in 
honor  of  the  father  of  Confucius,     .     .     .     and  one  be- 


472 


EimOA'\b    CtfA/N'S. 


hind,  in  honor  of  his  mother.  .  .  .  On  the  east  side 
are  temples  to  his  five  ancestors,  and  a  large  block  of 
marble,  whereon  is  a  genealogical  tree,  giving  all  the 
branches  of  his  family.  .  .  .  The  building  behind  the 
grand  temple  is  the  temple  in  honor  of  his  wife,  in  which 
was  only  a  tablet  and  no  image.  The  second  temple 
behind  that  contained  four  tablets,  erected  by  K'ang-he 
in  his  honor,  one  character  on  each,  and  the  interpreta- 
tion was:  'The  perspicuous  teacher  of  10,000  kingdoms.' 
Here  also  are  three  pictures  of  the  sage  on  marble ;  one 
an  old  man,  full-length,  rather  dim,  having  no  date ;  the 
second  smaller,  with  seal  characters  on  the  side ;  the 
third  and  best,  giving  only  his  head  and  shoulders. 
These  varied  somewhat  but  were  substantially  alike.  All 
of  them  have  the  mouth  or  lips  open  and  front  teeth  ex- 
posed, and  the  full  contemplative  eyes.  Immediately 
behind  these  are  engravings  on  marble,  illustrating  all 
the  chief  incidents  of  his  life,  with  appropriate  explana- 
tions at  the  side.  Of  these  there  were  altogfether  120 
slabs,  which  are  built  into  the  wall. 

"The  image  of  Confucius  does  not  stand  alone,  but  is 
surrounded  by  images  of  his  principal  disciples,  while  in 
a  hall  at  the  back  of  that  dedicated  to  him  are  ranged 
those  of  his  ancestors.  Occasionally  different  emperors 
have  visited  his  tomb  in  Shantung,  at  which  times  the 
imperial  pilgrims  have  worshiped  with  extraordinary 
solemnity  at  his  shrine  in  the  adjoining  temple.  K'ang-he, 
the  most  celebrated  both  as  a  ruler  and  a  scholar  of  the 
emperors  of  the  present  dynasty,  went  on  such  a  pilgrim- 
age, and  '  set  the  example  of  kneeling  thrice  and  each 
time  lying  his  forehead  thrice  in  the  dust  before  the 
image  of  the  sage.' 

"In  the  eighteen  provinces  there  are  1,500  temples 
dedicated  to  his  worship,  where  on  the  first  and  fifteenth 


CONFUCIAN  TEMPLES  AND   WORSHIP. 


473 


d.^;^s  of  each  moon,  sacrificial  services  are  performed 
before  him,  and  once  in  the  spring  and  autumn  the  local 
officials  go  in  state  to  take  part  in  acts  of  specially 
solemn  worship.  According  to  the  Shing  meaou  che,  or 
•History  of  the  Temples  of  the  Sage,'  as  many  as  six 
bullocks,  27,000  pigs,  5,800  sheep,  2,800  deer  and  2,700 
hares  are  sacrificed  on  these  occasions,  and  at  the  same 
time  27,600  pieces  of  silk  are  offered  on  his  shrine." 

We  have  before  mentioned  the  examination  of  can- 
didates for  civil  service  in  the  classics.  It  will  be  of  in- 
terest now  to  give  more  in  detail  on  these  examinations. 

EXAMINATIONS    IN    THE    SACRED    BOOKS. 

Dr.  H.  M.  Field  tells  us  of  the  Examination  Hall  that, 
in  the  eastern  quarter  of  Canton,  is  an  inclosure  of  many 
acres,  laid  off  in  a  manner  which  betokens  some  unusual 
purpose.  The  ground  is  divided  by  a  succession  of  long, 
low  buildings  not  much  better  than  horse-sheds  around 
a  New  England  meeting-house  in  the  olden  time.  They 
run  in  parallel  lines,  like  barracks  for  a  camp,  and  are 
divided  into  narrow  compartments.  Once  in  three  years 
this  vast  camping-ground  presents  an  extraordinary 
spectacle,  for  then  are  gathered  in  these  courts,  from  all 
parts  of  the  province,  some  10,000  candidates,  all  of  whom 
have  previously  passed  a  first  examination,  and  received 
a  degree  and  now  appear  to  compete  for  the  second. 
Some  are  young,  and  some  are  old,  for  there  is  no  limit 
put  upon  age.  As  the  candidates  present  themselves,  each 
man  is  searched,  to  see  that  he  has  no  books,  or  helps  of 
any  kind,  concealed  upon  his  person.  He  is  then  put  in  a 
stall  about  three  feet  wide,  just  large  enough  to  turn 
round  in  and  as  bare  as  a  prisoner's  cell.  There  is  a 
niche  in  the  wall,  in  which  a  board  can  be  placed  for  him 
to  sit  upon,  and  another  niche  to  support  a  board  that  has 


AjA  ERROR'S  CHAINS. 

to  serve  as  breakfast-table  and  writing-table.  This  is  the 
furniture  of  his  room.  Here  he  is  shut  in  from  all  com- 
munication with  the  world,  his  food  being  passed  to  him 
through  a  door,  as  to  a  prisoner.  Certain  themes  are 
then  submitted  to  him  in  writing  on  which  he  is  to  furnish 
written  essays,  intended  generally,  and  perhaps  always, 
to  determine  his  knowledge  of  the  classics.  It  is  some- 
times said  that  these  are  frivolous  questions,  the  answers 
to  which  afford  no  proof  whatever  of  one's  capacity  for 
office,  but  it  should  be  remembered  that  these  classics 
are  the  writings  of  Confucius,  which  are  the  political  ethics 
of  the  country,  the  very  foundation  of  the  government, 
vv'ithout  knowing  which,  one  is  not  qualified  to  take  part 
in  its  administration. 

The  candidate  goes  into  his  cell  in  the  afternoon,  and 
spends  the  night  there,  which  gives  him  time  for  re- 
flection, and  all  the  next  day  and  next  night,  when  he 
comes  out,  and  after  a  few  days  is  put  in  again  for  another 
trial  of  the  same  character,  and  this  is  repeated  a  third 
time;  at  the  end'of  which  he  is  released,  and  his  essays 
are  submitted  for  examination.  Of  the  10,000,  only 
75  can  obtain  a  degree — not  one  in  a  hundred  !  The 
9,925  must  go  back  disappointed,  their  only  consola- 
tion being,  that  after  three  years  they  can  try  again. 
Even  the  successful  ones  do  not  thereby  get  an 
office,  but  only  the  right  to  enter  for  a  third  competi- 
tion, which  takes  place  at  Peking,  by  which  of  course 
their  ranks  are  thinned  still  more.  The  few  who  get 
througli  this  threefold  ordeal  take  a  high  place  in  the 
literary  class,  from  which  all  appointments  to  the  public 
service  are  made.  Here  is  the  system  of  examination 
complete.  No  trial  can  be  imagined  more  severe,  and  it 
ought  to  give  the  Chinese  the  best  civil  service  in  the 
world. 


CONFUCIAN  TEMPLES  AND   WORSHIP. 


475 


ANECDOTES    OF    STUDENTS. 
HOW    MENCIUS'S    MOTHER    INCITED    HER    SON    TO    STUDY. 

During  the  Chow  dynasty  (B.  C.  1122-225),  Mencius, 
at  the  age  of  three  years,  lost  his  father.  His  mother, 
whose  name  was  Sin,  was  a  woman  of  distinguished 
worth  and  virture.  Mencius  went  to  school,  but  soon 
threw  aside  his  books  and  returned  home.  His  mother 
was  very  much  incensed  at  this  course,  and  taking  a  knife, 
cut  the  web  of  cloth  she  was  weaving,  saying:  "My  son, 
your  desisting  from  your  studies  is  like  my  cutting  this 
web."  Mencius,  trembling  with  apprehension,  returned 
to  school  and  studied  wdth  diligence,  nor  did  he  intermit 
his  literary  pursuits  until  he  became  a  wo7^t/iy,  next  in 
rank  to  the  sage  Confucius. 

HOW  A  TIRED  STUDENT  WAS  LED  BACK  TO  HIS  STUDIES. 

In  the  time  of  the  Tang  dynasty  (620-906  A.  D.)  Lei 
Peh,  while  yet  young,  and  before  he  had  completed  his 
studies  left  school  and  started  for  home.  On  the  road 
he  saw  an  old  woman  engaged  in  grinding  away  on  an 
iron  pestle,  Peh  inquired  why  she  was  thus  grinding 
the  pestle?  She  answered:  "■  I watit  to  make  a  need/eJ' 
He  was  surprised  at  her  words,  and  influenced  by  them, 
returned  to  school,  and  studied  with  most  assiduous 
application.  He  finally  became  a  member  of  the  Imperial 
college  at  the  capital. 

THE    LITTLE    SAGE    WHO    HID    FIRE    TO    LIGHT    HIS    LAMP. 

Probably  between  479-501  A.  D.,  lived  Y'su  Yung,  who 
w^hen  he  was  only  eight  years  old,  was  so  fond  of  study,  that 
his  parents  were  afraid  he  would  impair  his  eyes  by  his 
diligence.  They  therefore  forbade  him  the  use  of  books, 
but  he   would  not  obey  them.     Constantly  he   hid   fire 


476 


EJiHOJ^'S    CHAINS. 


until  his  parents  had  retired  to  rest,  when  he  would  light 
his  lamp  and  study.  He  took  his  clothes,  and  the  cover- 
let of  his  bed  and  hung  them  up  over  the  window  of  his 
room,  lest  the  light  escaping  through  it,  should  be  seen 
by  some  one  'of  the  famil)-.  In  this  way  his  name  became 
very  widely  celebrated  as  a  scholar.  At  home  and 
abroad  the  people  called  him  "  ike  Utile  sageT  At  the 
age  of  twelve  he  became  a  high  officer  ol  government, 
and  was  afterward  promoted  to  the  Superintendency 
of  the  Offering  of  Wine. 

AN    EXAMPLE    OF    A   STUDIOUS    ANCESTOR. 

Fan  Shun  Jin,  in  the  Sung  dynasty,  day  and  night  was 
diligent  in  study.  He  was  in  the  habit  of  placing  his 
lamp  within  the  curtains  of  his  bed,  and  thus  studying  till 
past  midnight.  Afterward,  he  became  a  very  distin- 
guished officer.  His  wife  preserved  the  curtain,  which, 
at  the  top,  had  become  black  by  the  soot.  Occasionally 
she  would  bring  it  forth,  and  show  it  to  her  children  and 
grandchildren,  saying,  "  Your  father  and  gi'andfather, 
when  he  was  a  boy,  was  ve?y  studious.  Here  are  the 
marks  of  the  smoke  of  his  la7npi' 

THE    STUDENT   WITH    A    ROUND    STICK    FOR    A    PILLOW. 

During  the  Sung  dynasty,  Sie  Ma  Wan,  w^hen  a  boy, 
whether  he  was  moving  about  or  at  rest,  in  all  his  con- 
duct was  dignified  and  decorous,  like  a  perfect  old  gen- 
tleman. At  seven  years  of  age  he  heard  an  explanation 
of  the  classic  called  "  Spring  and  Autumn."  He  was 
very  much  pleased,  and,  having  returned  home,  con- 
versed with  the  members  of  his  family  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  show  that  he  understood  its  principles.  He  was 
accustomed  to  use  a  round  block  of  wood  for  a  pillow. 
When  he  became  sleepy,  and  fell  into  a  doze,  this  pillow 


CONFUCIAN.  TEMPLES  AND   WORSHIP. 


477 


would  roll  a  little  and  awaken  him.  Once  awakened,  he 
would  apply  himself  to  his  studies  again  with  vigor.  He 
finally  became  an  object  of  worship,  his  tablet  being 
placed  in  the  temple  of  Confucius. 

THE    STUDENT   WITH    A    HOLE    IN    THE    WALL. 

In  the  Han  dynasty,  which  began  about  205  B.  C,  and 
ended  about  25  A.  D.,  lived  Kwang  Hung,  who  was  very 
indigent.  Though  very  fond  of  books,  he  was  destitute 
of  the  means  of  purchasing  oil.  His  neighbor,  in  the 
adjoining  house,  had  candles  ;  but  the  light  could  not 
penetrate  through  the  wall.  Hung  therefore  made  a  hole 
in  it,  in  order  to  procure  rays  of  light  by  which  he  could 
prosecute  his  studies.  In  the  city,  a  wealthy  man,  whose 
surname  was  Great,  had  a  large  number  of  books.  Hung 
was  anxious  to  work  for  him,  though  not  for  the  purpose 
of  receiving  wages.  He  only  desired  the  privilege  of 
reading  the  rich  man's  books  as  his  pay.  Mr.  Great  was 
so  much  interested  in  the  proposal  and  in  the  man  that 
he  gave  him  some  of  his  books  as  his  wages.  Hung 
became  a  very  learned  man,  and  finally  obtained  the  oftice 
of  prime  minister. 

With  stories  like  these  the  Chinese  encourage  the  peo- 
ple to  study  the  sacred  books.  Besides  the  gods  above 
mentioned  there  are  hundreds  of  others,  gods  of  occupa- 
tions, professions  and  callings;  gods  of  literature,  of  art, 
of  play-acting,  of  gambling,  and  a  host  of  others  are  found 
everywhere. 


478 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


CHAPTER  XXV.    - 

HOME-LIFE     UNDER     CONFUCIANISM. 

A  man  do  good,  he  go  to  Joss;  he  no  do  good,  very  much  bamboo 
catchee  he. — The  famous  Howqua's  reply  to  an  American  sea- 
captain. 

NE  of  the  most  prominent  features  of  the  Chinese 
rehgion  is  the  excessive  reverence  that  is  paid  to 
parents.  We  remember  the  commandment  of 
old,  "  Honor  thy  father  and  thy  mother,  that  thy  days 
may  be  long  upon  the  land  which  the  Lord  thy  God 
o-iveth  thee."  The  Chinese  have  loner  lived  in  their  land; 
they  have  outlived  the  kingdoms  oi"  Persia,  Egypt,  Judea, 
Babylon,  Greece  and  Rome.  It  certainly  seems  as  if  this 
were  a  fulfillment  of  the  promise  of  God,  that,  as  they 
honor  their  parents,  so  are  they  permitted  to  live  long  in 
their  land.  This  reverence  for  parents,  while  living  and 
after  death,  is  found  among  other  nations  ;  but  nowhere 
is  so  great  stress  laid  upon  this  part  of  duty  as  in  China. 
The  ancient  ritual  on  filial  duty  directs  that,  during  the 
lifetime  of  his  parents,  a  son  should  not  go  abroad,  or,  if 
he  do  so,  then  to  a  fixed  place.  When  at  home,  he 
should  rise  with  the  first  cock-crow,  and  having  washed 
and  dressed  himself  carefully,  should  inquire  what  the 
wishes  of  his  parents  are  as  to  the  food  they  would  eat 
and  drink.  He  should  not  enter  a  room  unless  invited 
by  his  father,  nor  retire  without  permission ;  neither 
should  he  speak  unless  spoken  to.  When  leaving  the 
house,  he  should  report  himself,  and  on  returning  should 


HOME- LIFE    UNDER    CONFUCIANISM. 


479 


make  his  presence  known.  He  should  be  regular  in  his 
amusements,  attentive  to  his  calling,  constant  in  speech, 
and  avoiding  all  reference  to  old  age.  This  last  is  a 
point  strongly  insisted  upon,  and  every  boy  has  held  up 
to  him  as  an  example  to  be  followed  the  conduct  of  Laou 


CHINESE  SITTING-ROOM. 


Lai  tsze,  who,  fearing  that  the  recognition  by  his  parents 
of  the  fact  that  he  was  seventy  years  old  would  remind 
them  of  their  own  great  age,  used  to  dress  himself  in  a 
child's  frock,  and  play  about  the  room  like  an  infant ! 

"  Of  all  things,"  said  Confucius,  "  which  derive  their  na- 
tures from   Heaven  and  earth,  man  is  the  most  noble ; 


48o 


£/^A'OA'-S   CHAINS. 


and  of  all  the  duties  which  are  incumbent  on  him,  there 
is  none  greater  than  filial  obedience  ;  nor,  in  performing 
this  is  there  anything  so  essential  as  to  reverence  one's 
father;  and,  as  a  mark  of  reverence,  there  is  nothing 
more  important  than  to  place  him  on  an  equality  with 
Heaven.  Thus  did  the  noble  Duke  Chow.  Formerly, 
he  sacrificed  on  the  round  altar  to  the  spirits  of  his  re- 
mote ancestors,  as  equal  with  Heaven  ;  and  in  the  open 
hall  he  sacrificed  to  Wan  Wang  (his  father),  as  equal 
with  Shan^-te." 

Repeatedly,  throughout  the  teachings  of  the  sage  and 
of  Mencius,  reference  is  made  to  ancestral  worship.  Yet, 
it  did  not  originate  with  Confucius,  for  he  but  handed 
down  a  more  ancient  form  of  worship.  Confucius  merely 
revived  that.  Really,  Confucius  cared  very  little  about 
worship  of  any  sort ;  his  system  was  of  the  earth,  earthy. 
All  the  worship  of  modern  Confucianism  is  the  addition 
of  later  days.  Whatever  of  worship  or  of  strictly  religious 
teaching  is  to  be  found  in  Confucius's  writings  is  there 
because  of  some  connection  with  government  or  moral 
teachings.  The  idea  of  filial  piety  is  carried  up  to  the 
government.  The  common  people  must  respect  and 
obey  the  officers  as  fathers  ;  lower  officers  must  look 
upon  the  higher  officers  as  fathers ;  and  all  must  look  to 
the  Emperor  as  father.  He,  in  turn,  must  look  upon  his 
people  as  his  children.     Thus  the  paternal  idea  prevails. 

WORSHIPING    THE    TABLET. 

Almost  every  Chinese  house  has  either  a  "  hall  of  an- 
cestors" or  at  least  a  closet,  where  the  ancestral  tablet  is 
kept.  The  tablet  is  called  Shin  Chu,  meaning  house  of  th^ 
spirit.  It  is  made  of  wood,  and  is  generally  about  twelve 
inches  high  and  three  inches  wide.  The  wood  is  gener- 
ally fragrant,  and  parts  are  elaborately  carved.     It  con- 


HO  ME- LIFE    UNDER    CONFUCIANISM. 


481 


sists  of  three  pieces,  a  pedestal  and  two  upright  pieces. 
Often  a  place  is  cut  in  the  back,  in  which  pieces  of  paper 
containing-  the  names 
of  ancestors  are  in- 
serted. Every  day  be- 
fore this  tablet  incense 
and  paper  prayers  are 
burned.  The  prayers 
are  written  upon  the 
paper,  and  the  Chinese 
believe  that  when  the- 
papers  are  burned  they 
go  to  their  dead  fathers 
and  mothers.  These 
are  not  prayers  for 
these  dead  parents,  but 
prayers  to  them.  They 
believe  that  each  man 
has  three  souls,  one  of 
which  at  his  death  oroes 
to  Heaven,  one  re- 
mains with  the  body  in 
the  grave  and  one  re- 
turns home  and  lives 
in  the  ancestral  tablet. 
In  April  of  each  year  a 
day  is  selected,  when 
especial  worship  is  paid 
at  the  graves.  Every 
man,  woman  and  child 
hastens  away  to  the 
family  tombs,  taking  of- 
ferings and  candles  to  worship  at  the  graves.  To  neglect 
this  ceremony  is  counted  a  slight  to  one's  dead  parents. 


ANCESTRAL  TABLET 


482 


ERROK'S   CHAINS. 


A  CHINAMAN  BURNING  PRAYERS  INSTEAD  OF  SAYINC;  THEM. 

The   following  translation  of  a  prayer  offered  at  the 
tomb  shows  that  it  is  a  real  worship  which  is  given: 

"  Tankwang,  I2ih  Year,  jd  Moon,  ist  Day. 

"I.  Lin  Kwanqf,  the  second  son  of  the  third  generation, 
presume  to  come  before  the  grave  of  my  ancestor,  Lin 


HOME-LIFE    UNDER    CONFUCIANISM.  483 

Kung.     Revolving  years  have  brought  again  the  season 

of  spring.     Cherishing  sentiments  of  veneration,  I  look 

up  and   sweep  your  tomb. 

Prostrate,  I   pray  that  you 

will  come  and  be  present, 

and  that  you  will  grant  to 

your  posterity  that  they  may 
be  prosperous  and  illus- 
trious. At  this  season  of 
genial  showers  and  gentle 
breezes,  I  desire  to  recom- 
pense the  root  of  my  exist- 
ence, and  exert  myself  sin- 
cerely.    Always  grant  your 

qafp  nrotection      Most  rev-     bringing  home  one  of  the  souls 
saie  protecLiuu.      iviusLi^  of  a  dead  man  in  his  clothes. 

erendy,  1  present  the  five- 
fold sacrifice  of  a  pig,  a  fowl,  a  duck,  a  goose,  and  a 
fish;  also,  an  offering  of  five  plates  of  fruit,  with  libations 
of  spirituous  liquors,  earnestly  entreating  that  you  will 
come  and  view  them.  With  the  most  attentive  respect, 
this  announcement  is  presented  on  high." 

To  a  Chinaman  there  is  no  greater  sin  than  to  neglect 
the  worship  of  an  ancestor  ;  no  greater  calamity  can  hap- 
pen than  that  he  should  die  and  be  buried  away  from  his 
native  land.  Almost  every  steamer  that  crosses  the 
Pacific  from  America  carries  one  or  more  preserved 
bodies  of  Chinamen,  taking  them  home  to  be  buried. 

CEREMONY    OF    TURNING   THE    BRIDGE-LADDER. 

Afler  the  dead  body  has  been  laid  out,  this  singular 
custom  is  observed  in  many  families.  Sometimes  those 
families  which  have  no  married  or  betrothed  daughters 
do  not  practice  it  on  the  death  of  its  head.  The  married 
daughters  are  expected  then  to  return  home. 


484 


ERUOH'S   CHAINS. 


Several  Taoist  priests  are  employed  to  prepare  the 
"bridge-ladder"  and  aid  in  the  celebration  of  the  cere- 
mony at  the  expense  of  the  son-in-law  or  sons-in-law  of 
the  deceased.  A  post  seven  or  eight  feet  high  is  placed 
in  a  socket  or  frame  standing  on  the  ground.  Into  holes 
made  in  the  sides  of  this  post  are  fastened  several  bam- 
boos two  or  three  feet  long.  These  sticks  project  out- 
ward  and    upward   a  little  from  the  post.     Sometimes 


CEREMONY  OF  TURNING  AROUND  THE  BRIDGE  LADDER. 

these  sticks  amount  to  several  tens.  The  longer  ones 
are  placed  toward  the  bottom  and  the  shorter  ones  toward 
the  top,  the  lowest  tier  beingf  three  or  four  feet  from  the 
ground.  At  the  extreme  outer  end  of  each  is  suspended 
by  a  wire  a  kind  of  glass  cup  containing  oil  and  wicking, 
the  whole  constituting  a  lamp.  On  the  top  of  the  post  is 
placed  a  candle.  Into  a  hole,  about  three  feet  from  the 
ground,  made  in  the  upright  post,  is  inserted  a  pole  pro- 
jecting at  a  right-angle,  some  two  or  three  feet  longer 
than  the  longest  of  the  sticks  having  lamps  at  their  ends. 


HOME- LIFE    UNDER    CONFUCIANISM. 


485 


This  "bridge  ladder,"  is  placed  in  the  middle  of  the 
room.  On  one  side  of  the  room  is  placed  a  table  having 
candles  and  incense  on  it.  On  the  wall  or  partition  of 
the  room  by  this  table  are  suspended  one  or  two  large 
paper  hangings,  relating  to  the  infernal  regions.  The 
body  of  the  deceased  is  lying  on  one  side  of  the  room, 
or,  if  there  is  an  adjoining  room  which  can  be  used  it  is 
placed  in  that. 

When  everything  is  ready,  the  ceremony  is  commenced 
by  lighting  the  lamps  and  candle  on  the  "bridge-ladder," 
as  well  as  the  candles  and  incense  on  the  table.  The 
priests  chant  their  liturgy  amid  the  noise  of  cymbals. 
The  married  daughter  comes  forward,  having  a  white 
cotton  cloth  bound  about  her  head,  partially  concealing 
her  eyes,  or  she  holds  to  her  eyes  a  white  cotton  cloth 
much  as  one  would  a  handkerchief  while  crying.  The 
eldest  son  of  the  deceased,  if  there  be  a  living  son,  now 
advances  and  taking  hold  of  the  end  of  the  long  pole 
pushes  gently  against  it.  The  post  turning  on  its  socket, 
the  entire  "bridge-ladder"  moves.  The  wife  of  the  eldest 
son,  his  younger  brothers  and  their  wives,  the  married 
daughter  of  the  deceased  and  her  children,  etc.,  now  fol 
low,  slowly,  the  elder  brother  as  he  turned  around  the 
"bridge-ladder"  for  a  few  times. 

In  case  there  is  no  son  a  married  or  affianced  dauorhter 
leads  the  company.  During  the  period  that  this  "bridge- 
ladder"  is  thus  made  to  revolve,  all  of  the  party  join  in 
loud  lamentation  and  wailing.  Their  outcry,  taken  in 
connection  with  the  chanting  of  the  priests  and  the  noise 
of  the  cymbals,  make  a  very  confused  hubbub  and  tumult 
of  voices  and  sounds.  These,  together  with  the  sight  of 
so  many  lamps  and  candles  burning  brightly  in  broad 
daylight,  produce  a  very  singular  spectacle  for  the  foreign 
beholder,  which,  once  seen,  will  not  be  quickly  forgotten. 
30 


486 


El^KOR'S   CHAINS. 


The  object  of  this  performance  with  the  bridge-ladder 
is  to  lighten  and  assist  the  deceased  on  his  way.  It  is 
called  ''bridge-ladder''  because  it  is  fancied  to  resemble 
a  bridge  and  a  ladder.  The  bridge  would  aid  the  dead 
to  pass  rivers,  and  the  ladder  would  help  him  to  climb 
steep  places,  should  he  meet  such  impediments  in  his 
journey. 

With  this  extreme  reverence  for  the  dead,  of  course, 
there  can  be  no  question  but  that  the  Chinese  hold  most 
determinedly  to  the  belief  in  a  future  life.  In  reality,  the 
whole  character  of  Buddhism  in  China  is  shaped  by  this. 
Buddhism  has  no  distinct  teaching  of  an  immortal  life ; 
and  when  it  was  brought  to  China,  it  gained  no  acceptance 
until  the  blank,  despairing  tenets  of  the  Nirvana  was 
changed  into  a  bright,  cheerful  Paradise  of  the  Blessed 
Dead.  Examination  will  show  that  the  Buddhism  of 
China  and  the  Buddhism  of  India  very  little  resemble  one 
another,  and,  if  we  mistake  not,  the  difference  grew  out 
of  the  belief  in  a  future  life,  which  is  a  prime  teaching  in 
the  Chinese  faith. 

The  worship  of  ancestors  enters  into  all  the  home  life, 
manners  and  customs  of  the  entire  Chinese  people. 

WORSHIP   OF    ANCESTORS    AT    A    WEDDING. 

The  tablets  of  the  family  are  arranged  on  a  table 
Standing  in  the  back  part  of  the  reception-room,  or  in  a 
shrine  placed  on  the  table.  Incense  and  candles,  ar- 
ranged, according  to  custom,  near  the  tablets,  having 
been  lighted,  the  bridegroom  and  his  bride  kneel  down 
three  or  four  times  before  the  tablets,  the  wife  being  on 
the  right-hand  side  of  her  husband.  While  on  their  knees, 
at  each  kneeling,  they  bow  their  heads  down  toward  the 
ground  once.  On  rising  to  their  feet  they  change  places^ 
and  then  kneel  down  three  or  four  times  again,  and  bow 


HO  ME- LIFE    UNDER    CONFUCIANISM. 


489 


their  heads  as  before  in  front  of  and  toward  the  tablets. 
They  now  arise,  and  two  chairs  are  placed  before  the 
table  which  contains  the  incense,  candles  and  tablets. 
If  the  paternal  grandparents  of  the  groom  are  living  and 
present,  they  take 
their  seats  in  the 
chairs,  the  grand- 
mother being  on 
the  right  hand  of 
the  grandfather, 
with  their  faces 
turned  away  from 
the  table  or  to- 
ward the  front 
part  of  the  room. 
In  case  either  has 
deceased,  the  tab- 
let which  repre- 
sents that  person 
is  placed  in  the  chair  which  he  or  she  would  have  occu- 
pied if  living.  The  bridegroom  and  bride  advance,  and 
kneel  down  three  or  four  times  before  them,  bowing  their 
heads  toward  the  ground  as  in  worshiping  the  tablets. 
They  then  arise,  and,  having  changed  positions,  kneel 
down  and  bow  again  three  or  four  times.  The  parents 
of  the  eroom  then  take  their  seats  in  the  chairs,  and  the 
ceremony  of  kneeling  and  bowing  is  repeated,  in  like 
manner,  the  customary  number  of  times.  While  the 
bride  is  on  her  knees,  her  new  mother  usually  arranges 
some  costly  ornaments  in  her  hair,  as  gold  or  pearls,  or 
gives  her  some  valuable  finger-rings.  If  able  to  afford  the 
expense  of  such ;  or,  if  poor,  she  presents  her  with  such 
head  ornaments  as  she  can  afford.  The  women  who 
assist  the  bride  in  performing  these  ceremonies  improve 


WORSHIP  OF  ANCESTORS  AT  A  WEDDING. 


^„^  ERJ^OR'S   CHAINS. 

the  Opportunity  to  offer  tea  to  her  parents  at  this  period, 
and  are  rewarded  for  their  attentions  with  a  present 
of  money  on  the  spot.  In  case  either  parent  is  dead,  the 
ancestral  tablet  for  that  person  is  placed  in  the  chair,  as 
in  the  supposed  case  of  one  of  the  grandparents  having 
deceased.  The  paternal  and  maternal  uncles  and  aunts 
of  the  groom,  if  present,  in  the  order  of  their  seniority, 
now  take  their  turns  of  being  worshiped  by  the  couple. 
Oftentimes,  these  relatives  will  not  sit,  but  content  them- 
selves to  stand  during  the  worship  rendered  them. 
Standing,  on  these  occasions  and  during  the  reception  of 
these  honors,  is  regarded  as  a  mark  of  humility. 

MOTHER,    GODDESS    OF    CHILDREN. 

Married  but  childless  women  twice  a  year  go  to  the 
temple  of  Mother,  taking  incense  and  candles  to  burn 
before  her  image.  They  come  to  the  temple  to  get  a 
shoe  which  is  to  represent  the  goddess  in  their  homes. 
They  declare  that  if  the  goddess  will  give  them  a  male 
child,  they  will  render  thanksgiving  to  her.  They  do  not 
cherish  the  slightest  desire  to  have  a  female  child. 

The  Chinese  classics  say : 

"When  a  son  is  born, 
He  sleeps  on  a  bed; 
He  is  clothed  in  robes ; 
He  plays  with  gems  ; 
His  cry  is  princely  loud  ! 
But  when  a  daughter  is  born, 
She  sleeps  on  the  ground ; 
She  is  clothed  with  a  wrapper; 
She  plays  with  a  tile  ; 
She  is  incapable  either  of  evil  or  good ; 
It  is  hers  only  to  think  of  preparing  wine  and  food, 
And  not  giving  any  occasion  of  grief  to  her  parents  !" 

This  is  an  accurate  expression  of  the  Chinese  prefer- 


HOME- LIFE    UNDER    CONFUCIANISM. 


491 


,-^^5^^^^ 


ence  for  a  male  child.  Indeed,  a  very  great  many  of  the 
Chinese  mothers  and  fathers  drown  their  girl  babies  when 
they  are  but  a 
few  hours  old, 
rather  than 
keep  them. 

Whenever  a 
child  is  born, 
the  mother 
takes  to  some 
temple  two 
shoes,  just  like 
the  one  she 
has  been  wor- 
shiping as  the 
representative 
of  "Mother" 
at  home.  Just 
before  a  child 
is  born  the  hus- 
band and  wife 
offer  gifts  as  a 
propitiation  to 
two  female  de- 
m  o  n  s  which 
are  supposed  to  seek  to  destroy  the  mother  at  the  birth 
of  her  child.  A  priest  is  called  in  to  recite  classics  ap- 
propriate to  the  occasion.  Sometimes  several  live  crabs 
are  turned  out  into  the  streets  to  take  the  evil  spirits 
with  them,  and  other  curious  devices  are  employed. 

TEACHING    A    CHILD    TO    WORSHIP    IDOLS. 

From  childhood,  the  Chinese  are  accustomed  to  worship 
idols  and  ancestors.     Family  parties  may  often  be  seen 


CHINESE  BABY  IN  ITS  CRADCE. 


492 


EliROKS   CHAINS. 


in  the  temples  ;  grandmothers  and  mothers  teaching  the 
httle  ones  to  bow  down  to  idols.  Here  is  a  description 
given  by  an  eye-witness.  He  was  introduced  into  an 
idol  temple,  and  stood  in  the  back  part  of  the  great  hall, 
where  the  chief  idols  are  placed,  and  from  thence  he 
could  watch  what  went  forward.     Soon  a  well-dressed 

lady  came  in  with 
her  three  children, 
of  about  seven,  five 
and  three  years  of 
aee.  The  two  elder 
boys  ran  forward, 
and  bowed  down 
before  the  idol  in 
the  usual  way,  and 
then  called  their  lit- 
tle brother  to  come 
forward  also  and  do 
as  they  had  done. 
But  this  was  evi- 
dently his  first  visit 
to  the  temple  ;  for  the  little  fellow  was  very  much  fright- 
ened at  the  sight  of  the  idol.  The  mother  then  dragged 
the  child  into  position,  and  standing  behind  and  holding 
him  fast  by  both  arms,  forced  him  to  bow  slightly  three 
times,  and  then  adroitly  slipped  out  of  her  sleeve  some 
toys  and  sweets,  which  she  gave  the  child,  saying  that 
the  god  had  given  him  these  nice  things  because  he  was 
a  good  boy  ;  and  she  told  him  to  thank  the  idol,  which  he 
did  with  great  heartiness. 

When  the  child  grows  up,  and  is  able  to  see  through 
such  tricks,  the  priest  has  taken  the  mother's  place,  and, 
by  carefully-concealed  deceits,  manages  to  delude  him  into 
believing  just  what  it  may  be  thought  best  to  teach  him. 


TEACHING  A  CHILD  TO  WORSHIP. 


HOME-LIFE    UNDER    CONFUCIANrSM. 


493 


THE    GOD    OF   THE    KITCHEN. 

There  is  another  important  object  of  Chinese  worship, 
whose  place  of  abode  is  in  the  kitchen.  His  name  is  Tsz- 
min ;  foreigners  call  him  "  god  of  the  kitchen."  Incense  and 
candles  are  burned  before  the  kitchen-god  on  the  first 
and  fifteenth  days  of  each  month.  To  represent  this  god, 
the  poorer  people  use  simply  a  piece  of  red  paper,  with 
the   god's   name  written   on   it.      Generally,  a   sheet  of 


OFFERING  SACRIFICE  TO  THE  KITCHEN-GOD. 

white  paper  is  used,  on  which  the  likeness  of  an  old  man 
and  woman  has  been  stamped,  together  with  pictures  of 
fowls,  dogs,  buffaloes,  etc.,  and  tables.  This  paper  is 
pasted  to  a  board  and  suspended  in  the  kitchen.  The 
Chinese  say  that  there  are  two  objects  of  worship  in 
every  house,  and  these  are  the  ancestral  tablet  and  the 
kitchen-god.     This  god  is   supposed  to  have  charge  of 


494 


JRRROR'S   CHAINS. 


the  family;  and  his  duty  is  to  keep  a  strict  watch  over 
all  the  members  of  it.  This  he  must  do,  because,  at  the 
end  of  each  year,  he  has  to  make  a  report  of  the  year's 
conduct  to  the  great  god  Yuh-Hwang,  the  "  Pearly  Em- 
peror, Supreme  Ruler,"  who  rules  in  Heaven  over  all  the 
lesser  gods.  Five  days  before  the  Chinese  New  Year, 
this  kitchen-god  is  supposed  to  leave  every  house  and 
ascend  to  Heaven,  to  make  his  yearly  report. 

On  the  day  before  his  supposed  departure,  feasts  are 
offered  to  him,  and  more  than  usual  honors  paid  him,  in 
the  hope  that  he  may  be  bribed  to  give  a  good  account. 
At  the  exact  time  of  his  departure,  fire-crackers  are  let 
off,  incense  burned,  and  worship  offered,  in  order  that  he 
may  start  on  his  long  journey  in  a  good  temper,  and  with 
as  much  dignity  as  possible.  His  return  is  expected,  and 
he  is  received  with  the  same  marks  of  respect  which  at- 
tend his  going  away. 

Every  shop-keeper,  banker  and  merchant  has  a  piece 
of  red  paper,  on  which  the  words  "  god  of  wealth  "  are 
written,  pasted  on  his  wall.  Seldom  do  they  make  an 
image  of  this  god.  Incense  and  candles  are  burned,  and 
prayers  are  offered  daily.  Often,  after  the  festivals  of 
this  god,  mock-money  and  mock-clothing  are  burned  for 
the  benefit  of  the  spirits  of  beggars  in  purgatory. 

THE    STORY    OF    MA-CHU,    GODDESS    OF    THE    SAILORS. 

She  was  the  daughter  of  a  man  who,  with  his  sons,  was 
engaged  on  the  ocean  in  the  pursuit  of  a  living.  He  was 
born  during  the  Sung  dynasty,  and  lived  in  the  Hing 
Hua  prefecture  of  the  province  of  Fuh-klen.  One  day, 
while  she  was  engaged  in  the  employment  of  weaving  in 
her  mother's  house  she  fell  asleep  through  excessive 
weariness,  her  head  resting  upon  her  loom.  She  dreamed 
that  she  saw  her  father  and  two  brothers  on  their  separate 


HOME- LIFE    UNDER    CONFUCIANISM.  ^^r 

junks  in  a  terrific  storm.  She  exerted  herself  to  rescue 
them  from  danger.  She  immediately  seized  upon  the 
junk  which  contained  her  father,  with  her  mouth,  while 
with  her  hands  she  caught  a  firm  hold  upon  the  two  junks 
which  contained  her  two  brothers.  She  was  dragging 
them  all  toward  the  shore  when,  alas !  she  heard  the 
voice  of  her  mother  calling  to  her,  and,  as  she  was  an 
obedient  girl,  forgetting  that  she  held  her  father's  junk 
in  her  mouth,  she  hastily  opened  it  to  ansv/er  her  mother. 
She  awoke  in  great  distress  and,  lo !  it  was  a  dream,  but 
not  all  a  dream,  for  in  a  few  days  the  news  arrived  that 
the  fleet  of  junks  had  encountered  a  dreadful  storm,  and 
that  the  one  in  which  her  father  was  had  been  wrecked,  and 
he  had  perished,  while  those  in  which  her  brothers  were 
had  been  signally  rescued.  The  girl  knew  that  she  had 
been  the  means  of  the  salvation  of  her  brothers,  and  that 
opening  her  mouth  to  answer  her  mother's  call  was  the 
occasion  of  her  failure  to  rescue  her  father's  vessel.  This 
girl  became,  as  the  result  of  her  dream,  one  of  the  most 
popular  objects  of  worship  in  the  empire. 

The  emperors  of  China  have,  at  different  times  since 
her  death,  conferred  various  high-sounding  titles  upon 
her,  some  of  which  seem  blasphemous.  She  is  called 
"  Queen  of  Heaven'  and  "  The  Holy  Mother  m  the  heavens 
above!'  One  is  often  reminded  by  the  titles  given  her 
and  the  wors'hip  and  honors  paid  her,  of  the  titles  which 
are  given  to  the  mother  of  Jesus  by  the  authority  of  the 
Pope  of  Rome.  Sailors  often  take  with  them  some  embers 
or  ashes  which  they  obtain  from  the  censer  before  some 
popular  image  of  the  goddess.  These  ashes  they  carry 
about  their  person  in  a  small  red  bag,  or  they  suspend  them 
about  the  junk  in  convenient  places,  or  they  put  them  in 
the  censer  before  the  image  of  that  which  they  worship. 
When  there  is  a  violent  storm,  and  there  seems  but  little 


496 


ERJ^OR'S   CHAINS. 


hope  that  the  junk  will  outride  it,  the  sailors  all  kneel 
down  near  the  bow  with  incense  in  their  hands,  and  call 
out  in  doleful  and  bitter  tones  upon  Ma-Chu  to  send 
deliverance.  In  case  they  reach  the  port  without  ship- 
wreck, they  are  bound  to  offer  her  an  especial  thanks- 
o-ivinq-  of  food,  with  or  without  theatrical  plays  in  her 
honor,  according  to  their  vow. 

Thus  we  have  seen  that  the  Chinese,  though  standing 
high  above  other  Asiatic  nations  in  point  of  civilization, 
are  yet  as  idolatrous  as  any.  Buddhism  and  Taoism 
have  somewhat  lessened  the  hold  of  Confucius  upon  the 
great  Chinese  nation  ;  and  Christianity  and  western 
civilization  have  done  much  toward  introducing  a  new 
order  of  thinirs  in  China. 


THE    GOD    OF    GAMBLING    OUTWITTED. 

A  lady  living  in  China  narrates  the  following  Chinese 
myth : 

A  gambler  once  went  to  a  temple,  to  secure  the  help 

of  a  certain  god  therein.  His 
luck  had  been  bad,  and  he 
was  unable  to  bring  any  ob- 
lation besides  incense  and 
paper  money ;  but  he  prom- 
ised that,  if  the  god  would 
help  him  to  win  a  certain 
sum,  he  would  then  bring  a 
thank-offerincr  havinof  ten  feet. 
The  eod  reckoned  the  sorts 
of  tribute  usually  paid  to  him  ; 
and,  as  the  feet  of  a  pig,  a 
kid  and  a  duck  would  to- 
gether make  ten,  he  supposed 
that  these  were   the  animals   that  would   be  laid   upon 


GOD  OF  GAMBLING. 


HO  ME- LIFE    UNDER    CONFUCIANISM. 


497 


his  altar,  should  the  gambler  succeed.  So  he  favored 
the  gambler,  and  caused  him  to  gain  even  more  than  the 
stipulated  sum.  The  gambler  fulfilled  the  letter  of  his 
promise  by  laying  a  single  crab  on  the  altar.  The  god 
was  very  angry  at  being  thus  duped,  and  thenceforth 
exerted  so  unpropitious  an  influence  in  the  gambler's 
affairs  that  he  went  and  ascertained  through  a  spirit 
medium  the  cause  of  his  misfortunes.  Again  he  came 
with  fair  words,  promising  that,  if  the  god  would  once 
more  grant  his  aid,  he  should  have  a  whole  pig  as  com- 
pensation. The  god  was  mollified,  and  again  favored 
the  gambler,  so  that  his  winnings  were  large.  He  brought 
the  pig  as  a  thank-offering.  It  was  a  fine,  strong  one ; 
but  it  was  alive,  and  not  in  a  condition  in  which  it  would 
be  edible  for  either  eods  or  men.  While  the  ood  looked 
in  astonishment  at  this  departure  from  the  established 
customs  in  the  payment  of  a  vow,  the  gambler  fastened 
the  pig  by  a  strong  rope  to  the  leg  of  the  throne  on 
which  the  grod  sat,  and  beo-an  to  ligfht  the  fire-crackers, 
by  which  an  offering  is  announced.  The  explosion  of 
the  fire-crackers  frightened  the  pig,  so  that  it  ran  away 
drao-aino-  both  ood  and  throne  after  it,  till  both  were 
upset  and  broken.  Thus  the  astute  gambler  outwitted 
the  honest  god. 


498 


EH  IVOR'S   CHAINS. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

BUDDHA,  THE    "  LIGHT   OF    ASIA." 

The  Saviour  of  the  World, 
Lord  Buddha — Prince  Siddartha  styled  on  earth — 
In  Earth  and  Heavens  and  Hells  Incomparable, 
All-honored,  Wisest,  Best,  most  Pitiful ; 
The  Teacher  of  Nirvana  and  the  Law. 

Edwin  Arnold. 

Je  n'hesite  pas  a  ajouter  que,  sauf  le  Christ  tout  seul,  il  n'est  point, 
parmi  les  fondateurs  de  religion,  de  figure  plus  pure  ni  plus  touchante 
que  celle  du  Bouddha. — Barthelemy  Saint-Hilaire. 

WE  now  come  to  the  study  of  the  last  of  the  sys- 
tems of  Idol  worship.  Buddhism.  This  is  one 
of  the  most  Interestino-  of  all.  It  stands  at 
once  nearest  to  and  farthest  from  Christianity.  In  its 
extent,  it  is  the  greatest  religion  of  the  world.  It  in- 
cludes four-tenths  (nearly  one-half)  of  all  the  world's 
population.  The  following  figures  indicate  the  compara- 
tive streno-th  of  the  different  existinof  religions : 


Parsees, 

150,000. 

Jews,  . 

7,000,000 

being 

about 

Greek  Church,     . 

75,000,000 

"■ 

6 

Roman  Catholics, 

152,000,000 

il 

12 

Other  Christians, 

100,000,000 

a 

8 

Hindus, 

161,200,000 

i  i 

13 

Mohammedans,   . 

155,000,000 

a 

12 

Buddhists,  . 

500,000,000 

i  i 

40 

Not    included    in 

the  above,  Fe- 

tichists,  etc.,    . 

100,000,000 

a 

<( 

8 

Total,      .          I 

,250,350,000 

100 

y^  perct.  of  total). 


e 
r 


BUDDHA,  THE  '■'LIGHT  OF  ASIAr 


499 


It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that  very  few  of  the 
500,000,000  of  Buddhists  are  Buddhists  only.  Many  of  the 
Chinese  Buddhists  are  Confucianists  and.  Taoists  as  well. 
Many  of  the  Ceylonese  (or  rather  Singhalese)  Buddhists 
are  devil-worshipers  and  star- worshipers  as  well.  So,  also, 
one  often  sees  in  the  Buddhist  temples  of  Japan  the 
Shinto  symbols.  Indeed,  the  rapid  and  wide  growth  of 
Buddhism  is  due  to  the  readiness  with  which  it  tolerates 
other  religions.  To  write  the  history  of  Buddhism  is  to 
write  the  history  of  the  hopes,  and  aspirations,  and  most 
sacred  feelings  of  nearly  one-half  the  human  race  of 
modern  times.  Buddhism  has  been  received  by  both 
very  savage  and  very  civilized  peoples — the  wild  Nomad 
hordes  of  the  cold  northern  lands  of  Tartary,  Thibet  and 
Nepal ;  the  cultured  Chinese  and  Japanese,  and  the  quiet 
Siamese,  Burmese  and  Ceylonese. 

A  religion  of  such  wide  acceptance  by  nations  and  in- 
dividuals of  such  different  characters  and  circumstances, 
and  which  has  controlled  the  destinies  of  thousands  of 
millions  of  souls  during  nearly  twenty-three  hundred 
years,  and  which  comes  nearest  to  Christianity  in  the 
purity  of  its  morals  and  the  benefits  it  proposes  to  confer 
upon  the  human  race,  is  certainly  worthy  of  very  careful 
attention.  In  studying  it  we  must  carefully  avoid  either 
a  wholesale  condemnation  or  an  unqualified  approval ; 
we  must  recognize  that  there  are  both  good  and  evil  in 
it.  It  is  to  be  remembered,  also,  that  we  can  only  look 
upon  Buddha's  teachings  after  the  lapse  of  ages,  and 
from  this  long  distance  the  view  is  likely  to  be  anything 
else  than  clear.  Without  a  doubt  the  doctrines  of  Buddha 
have  been  so  perverted,  that  he  would  scarcely  recognize 
the  religion  that  bears  his  name  to-day.  Then,  too, 
being  an  Oriental  religion,  we  Western  people  cannot 
study  it  under  as  favorable  circumstances  as  the  Eastern 


roo  ERROR'S  CHAINS. 

people.     Oriental  religions  can  be  seen  best  by  Oriental 
eyes. 

Buddhism  is  a  reform  upon  Brahminism.  It  is  of 
Hindu  origin,  and  while  it  has  but  little  sway  in  the  land 
of  its  birth,  it  retains  the  Hindu  cast  in  all  its  wanderings 
into  other  lands  and  its  observances  among  other  peoples. 

THE    STORY    OF    GAUTAMA,    THE    FOUNDER    OF    BUDDHISM. 

In  giving  these  legends  of  the  life  of  Gautama,  it 
should  be  stated  that  they  are  derived  from  the  writings 
of  Buddhists  who  lived  long  after  Gautama  was  dead. 
They  are  to  be  received,  of  course,  with  that  degree  of 
credulity  which  would  attend  the  legends  of  devoted  dis- 
ciples of  any  such  teacher.  Those  who  have  studied  Bud- 
dhism in  its  native  land  have  collected  these  legends  with 
great  care,  among  whom  one  of  the  most  careful  authors 
is  Rev.  Spence  Hardy,  who  has  collected  and  commented 
on  them  with  great  candor. 

At  the  end  of  the  sixth  century  before  Christ,  a  wise 
and  good  king  reigned  in  the  capital  city  of  his  country, 
Kapila-vastu,  about  one  hundred  miles  north-east  from 
the  great  city  of  Benares,  in  India.  Around  this  city  the 
snow-crowned,  giant  peaks  of  the  Himalayas  towered  up 
in  the  clear  blue  of  the  Indian  sky.  The  city  was  on  the 
banks  of  an  insignificant  river,  the  Rohini.  The  people 
lived  from  the  produce  of  their  cattle  and  their  rice-fields  ; 
they  adhered  to  the  Hindu  religion.  The  wife  of  King 
Suddhodana  v/ac  named  Maya,  because  of  her  wondrous 
beauty.  She  was  childless  until  her  forty  fifth  year. 
Little  Prince  Siddartha  was  born  under  the  shade  of  a 
satin-tree,  in  the  year  552  B.  C.  In  later  years  he  was 
called  the  "Buddha."  At  this  time,  in  addition  to  the 
name  Siddartha,  he  received  the  name  of  Sakya-muni 
from  his  family,  and  that  of  Gautama  from  his  clan. 


BUDDHA,  THE  "  LIGHT  OF  ASIA."  CQi 

Just  as  in  the  case  of  other  famous  men,  many  mar- 
velous stories  are  told  concerning  his  miraculous  birth, 
and  the  precocious  wisdom  and  power  of  the  infant 
prince.  At  his  birth,  the  legends  say,  ten  thousand 
worlds  were  filled  with  light,  the  blind  received  their 
sight,  the  deaf  heard,  the  lame  walked,  the  imprisoned 
were  set  free,  the  trees  burst  forth  in  blossom,  the  air 
was  filled  with  sweet  songs  of  birds,  and  even  the  fires 
of  hell  were  for  the  time  being  extinguished.  On  the 
fifth  day  after  his  birth,  at  the  "  name-choosing  festival," 
1 08  Brahmin  priests  met  to  select  the  most  fitting  name. 
One  of  them,  the  most  learned  in  divination,  predicted 
that  he  will  be  a  "  Buddha,"  who  will  remove  the  veils  of 
sin  and  ignorance  from  the  world.  Gautama  is  the  name 
by  which  he  is  most  commonly  known  among  the  south- 
ern Buddhists.  Buddha,  or,  more  properly,  the  Buddha, 
means  the  Enlightened  One,  and  is  an  official  title,  just 
as  we  say  Jesus,  the  Christ,  or  the  Anointed  One.  Dur- 
ing his  youth  Gautama  is  noted  for  his  prowess,  and  for 
teaching  even  his  masters  in  the  arts  and  sciences.  He 
has,  so  the  legends  go  on  to  say,  most  magnificent  equip- 
ages and  many  servants.  He  is  early  married  to  his 
cousin.  He  devotes  himself  to  study  and  meditation, 
and  his  relatives  charge  him  with  neglecting  to  train 
himself  in  manly  exercises.  Gautama,  being  told  of  their 
murmurings,  appoints  a  day  by  beat  of  drum  to  prove 
his  skill  against  all  comers.  At  the  trial  he  surpasses 
the  cleverest  bowmen,  and  exhibits  wonderful  strength 
and  skill  in  his  feats  of  horsemanship.  In  his  twenty- 
ninth  year,  Gautama  abandons  his  home  to  devote  him< 
self  entirely  to  the  study  of  religion  and  philosophy. 

He  had  been  accustomed  to  say,  "  Nothing  is  stable 
on  earth,  nothing  is  real.  Life  is  like  the  spark  produced 
by  the  friction  of  wood.  It  is  lighted,  and  it  is  extir- 
31 


502 


ERRORS   CHAINS. 


guished ;  we  know  not  whence  it  came  and  whither  it 
goes.  It  is  Hke  the  sound  of  a  lyre,  an'''  die  ■•vise  man 
asks  in  vain  from  whence  it  came  and  wFjther  it  goes. 
There  must  be  some  supreme  intelligence  where  we 
could  find  rest.  If  I  attained  to  it,  I  could  bring  light  to 
man ;  if  I  were  free  myself,  I  could  deliver  the  world." 
With  this  hope,  and  being  moved  thereto  by  foMr  inci- 
dents, he  gave  himself,  as  we  have  just  said,  to  seeking 
the  light  of  the  world.  These  were  but  ordinary  events, 
and  yet  they  had  a  great  effect  upon  Gautama. 

Gautama's  four  visions. 

One  day  when  the  prince,  with  a  large  retinue,  was 
driving  through  the  eastern  gate  of  the  city  on  the  way 
to  one  of  his  parks,  he  met  on  the  road  an  old  man, 
broken  and  decrepit.  One  could  see  the  veins  and 
muscles  over  the  whole  of  his  body;  his  teeth  chattered, 
he  was  covered  with  wrinkles,  bald  and  hardly  able  to 
utter  hollow  and  unmelodious  sounds.  He  bent  on  his 
stick,  and  all  his  limbs  and  joints  trembled.  "Who 
is  that  man?"  said  the  prince  to  his  coachman.  "He  is 
small  and  weak,  his  flesh  and  his  blood  are  dried  up,  his 
muscles  stick  to  his  skin,  his  head  is  white,  his  teeth 
chatter,  his  body  is  wasted  away ;  leaning  on  his  stick  he 
is  hardly  able  to  walk,  stumbling  at  every  step.  Is  there 
something  peculiar  in  his  family,  or  is  this  the  common 
lot  of  all  created  beings  ?" 

"Sir,"  replied  the  coachman,  "that  man  is  sinking 
under  old  age ;  his  senses  have  become  obtuse,  suffering 
has  destroyed  his  strength,  and  he  is  despised  by  his 
relations.  He  is  without  support  and  useless,  and  people 
have  abandoned  him,  like  a  dead  tree  in  a  forest.  But 
this  is  not  peculiar  to  his  family.  In  every  creature 
youth  is  defeated  by  old  age.    Your  father,  your  mother, 


BUDDHA,   THE  '^  LIGHT  OF  ASIA" 


503 


all  your  relations,  all  your  friends,  will  come  to  the  same 
state;  this  is  the  appointed  end  of  all  creatures." 

"Alas!"  replied  the  prince,  "are  creatures  so  ignorant, 
so  weak  and  foolish,  as  to  be  proud  of  the  youth  by 
which  they  are  intoxicated,  not  seeing  the  old  age  which 
awaits  them  !  As  for  me,  I  go  away.  Coachman,  turn 
my  chariot  quickly.  What  have  I,  the  future  prey  of 
old  age — what  have  I  to  do  with  pleasure  ?"  And  the 
young  prince  returned  to  the  city  without  going  to  his 
park. 

Another  time  the  prince  was  driving  through  the 
southern  gate  to  his  pleasure-garden,  when  he  perceived 
on  the  road  a  man  suffering  from  illness,  parched  with 
fever,  his  body  wasted,  covered  with  mud,  without  a 
friend,  without  a  home,  hardly  able  to  breathe,  and  fright- 
ened at  the  sight  of  himself  and  the  approach  of  death. 
Having  questioned  his  coachman,  and  received  from  him 
the  answer  which  he  expected,  the  young  prince  said: 
"Alas  !  health  is  but  the  sport  of  a  dream,  and  the  fear  of 
suffering  must  take  this  frightful  form.  Where  is  the 
wise  man  who,  after  having  seen  what  he  is,  could  any 
longer  think  of  joy  and  pleasure  ?"  The  prince  turned 
his  chariot  and  returned  to  the  city. 

A  third  time  he  was  driving  to  his  pleasure-garden 
through  the  western  gate,  when  he  saw  a  dead  body  on 
the  road,  lying  on  a  bier,  and  covered  with  a  cloth.  The 
friends  stood  about,  crying,  sobbing,  tearing  their  hair 
coverincr  their  heads  with  dust,  striking  their  breasts  and 
uttering  wild  cries.  The  prince,  again  calling  his  coach- 
man to  witness  this  painful  scene,  exclaimed:  "O  woe 
to  youth,  which  must  be  destroyed  by  old  age !  Woe  to 
health,  which  must  be  destroyed  by  so  many  diseases ! 
Woe  to  this  life,  where  a  man  remains  so  short  a  time ! 
If  there  were  no   old  age,  no  disease,  no  death  ;  if  these 


504 


ERROR'S  CHAINS. 


could  be  made  captive  forever !"  Then  betraying  for 
the  first  time  his  intentions,  the  young  prince  said:  "Let 
us  turn  back,  I  must  think  how  to  accomplish  deliver- 
ance." 

A  last  meeting  put  an  end  to  his  hesitation.  He  was 
driving  through  the  northern  gate,  on  the  way  to  his 
pleasure-gardens,  when  he  saw  a  mendicant,  who  ap- 
peared outwardly  calm,  subdued,  looking  downwards, 
wearing  with  an  air  of  dignity  his  religious  vestment,  and 
carrying  an  alms-bowl. 

"  Who  is  .this  man  ?"  asked  the  prince. 

"Sir,"  replied  the  coachman,  "this  man  is  one  of  those 
who  are  called  bhikshus,  or  mendicants.  He  has  re- 
nounced all  pleasures,  all  desires,  and  leads  a  life  of 
austerity.  He  tries  to  conquer  himself.  He  has  become 
a  devotee.  Without  passion,  without  envy,  he  walks 
about  askinof  for  alms." 

"  This  is  good  and  well  said,"  replied  the  prince  ;  "  the 
life  of  a  devotee  has  always  been  praised  by  the  wise.  It 
will  be  my  refuge,  and  the  refuge  of  other  creatures  ;  it 
will  lead  us  to  a  real  life,  to  happiness  and  immortality." 

With  these  words,  the  young  prince  turned  his  chariot 
and  abandoning  his  proposed  ride  returned  to  the  city. 

THE    GREAT   RENUNCIATION. 

We  now  come  to  a  most  touching  incident  in  Gauta- 
ma's life.  Moved  by  the  visions  of  which  we  have  just 
spoken,  Gautama  determines  to  seek  the  solitude  of  the 
hermit's  hut.  His  life  had  been  full  of  intense  yearning 
which  had  never  been  satisfied.  Not  all  the  comfort  and 
prosperity  about  him  could  drive  away  his  desire  to  ob- 
tain peace.  To  him,  life  was  a  great  enigma,  and  he  de- 
termined to  solve  it.  He  was  not  dissatisfied,  but,  rather, 
unsatisfied.     His  determination  to  retire  from  active  life 


BUDDHA,  THE  '^ LIGHT  OF  ASIA."  cq- 

was,  however,  by  no  means  easy.  For  his  wife  and  his 
only  son,  Rahula,  he  felt  the  warmest  affection.  It  was 
to  be  a  difficult  task  to  break  these  ties. 

At  midnight,  he  summoned  his  charioteer,  Channa,  to 
brinor  his  horse  to  the  palace  gate.  While  Channa  was 
gone  to  the  stable,  Gautama  turned  back  to  take  a  last 
look  at  his  wife  and  child.  The  princess  lay  asleep  upon 
her  couch,  surrounded  with  flowers,  and  her  hand  was 
embracing  her  litde  one.  Gautama  saw  that  he  could 
not  take  the  child  up  in  his  arms  without  disturbing  the 
mother,  and  he  was  afraid  that  she  might  succeed  in 
shaking  his  resolution,  did  she  plead  with  him. 

"  So  with  his  brow  he  touched  her  feet,  and  bent 
The  farewell  of  fond  eyes,  unutterable 
Upon  her  sleeping  face,  still  wet  with  tears ; 
And  thrice  around  the  bed  in  reverence, 
As  though  it  were  an  altar,  softly  stepped 
With  clasped  hands  laid  upon  his  beating  heart, 
'  For  never, '  spake  he,  '  lie  I  there  again  ! ' 
And  thrice  he  made  to  go,  but  thrice  came  back. 
So  strong  her  beauty  was,  so  large  his  love : 
Then,  o'er  his  head  drawing  his  cloth,  he  turned, 
And  raised  the  purdah's  edge  : 

'■'■  Then,  lightly  treading  where  those  sleepers  lay, 
Into  the  night  Siddartha  passed  :   its  eyes. 
The  watchful  stars,  looked  love  on  him  ;  its  breath. 
The  wandering  wind,  kissed  his  robe's  fluttered  fringe; 
The  garden-blossoms,  folded  for  the  dawn, 
Opened  their  velvet  hearts  to  waft  him  scents. 
From  pink  and  purple  censers;  o'er  the  land. 
From  Himalaya  unto  the  Indian  Sea, 
A  tremor  spread,  as  if  earth's  soul  beneath 
Stirred  with  an  unknown  hope  ;  and  holy  books — 
Which  tell  the  story  of  our  Lord — say,  too, 
That  rich  celestial  music  thrilled  the  air 
From  hosts  on  hosts  of  shining  ones,  who  thronged 
Eastward  and  westward,  making  bright  the  night — 


coo  ERROR'S   CHAINS. 

Northward  and  southward,  making  glad  the  ground. 

Also  those  four  dread  Regents  of  the  Earth, 

Descending  at  the  doorway,  two  by  two — 

With  their  bright  legions  of  Invisibles 

In  arms  of  sapphire,  silver,  gold  and  pearl — 

Watched  with  joined  hands  the  Indian  Prince,  who  stood. 

His  tearful  eyes  raised  to  the  stars,  and  lips 

Close-set  with  purpose  of  prodigious  love. 

Then  strode  he  forth  into  the  gloom  and  cried, 

'  Channa,  awake !  and  bring  out  Kantaka  ! ' 

*■  '  What  would  my  lord?'   the  charioteer  replied — 
Slow-rising  from  his  place  beside  the  gate — 
'  To  ride  at  night,  when  all  the  ways  are  dark?' 

'•  '  Speak  low,'  Siddartha  said,  '  and  bring  my  horse, 
For  now  the  hour  is  come  when  I  should  quit 
This  golden  prison,  where  my  heart  lives  caged, 
To  find  the  truth ;  which  henceforth  I  will  seek, 
For  all  men's  sake,  until  the  truth  be  found.'  " 

Shortly  after  he  had  passed  through  the  ponderous 
gate  of  the  city — which,  it  was  said,  took  a  thousand 
men  to  open  it — he  was  met  by  the  evil  god  Mara. 
Mara  knew  that  if  Gautama  proceeded,  his  power  would 
be  lessened  and  so  he  sought  to  turn  him  back.  He 
said  to  Gautama :  "  Be  entreated  to  stay,  that  you  may 
possess  the  honors  that  are  within  your  reach  ;  go  not ! 
ao  not!"  To  this  Gautama  replied:  "A  thousand  or  a 
hundred  thousand  honors  such  as  those  to  which  you 
refer  would  have  no  power  to  charm  me  to-day ;  I  seek 
the  Buddhaship ;  therefore,  begone,  hinder  me  not." 
Mara  left  him  in  great  anger,  determined  to  foil  him. 

GAUTAMA    BECOMES    AN    ASCETIC. 

Gautama  then  exchanged  his  clothes  with  a  poor 
|)asser-by,  cut  off  his  hair,  and  sent  Channa,  the  charioteer 
back  and  became  a  begging,  homeless  hermit.     Several 


BUDDHA,  THE  "LIGHT  OF  AS/A."  cq-j 

hermits  had  taken  up  their  abode  in  the  caves  of  the 
Vindhya  mountains  ;  here  they  were  at  once  surrounded 
by  the  solitudes  of  nature  and  sufficiently  near  to  a  large 
city  to  get  their  supplies.  After  coming  to  these  caves 
he  attaches  himself  to  a  Brahmin  teacher,  and  under  his 
guidance  seeks,  by  undergoing  severest  penances,  to 
gain  superhuman  power.  After  a  little,  he  withdraws  by 
himself  to  the  jungles,  where  he  spends  six  years  in  fast- 
ing and  self-mortification.  His  severity  of  self-control 
gains  him  great  fame,  and  disciples  gather  about  him.  A 
fear  that,  lest  after  all  his  efforts  should  be  fruitless  and 
that  he  should  die,  having  gone  wrong,  made  him  finally 
give  up  the  attempt. 

Now  c?me  the  crisis  of  his  life.  The  second  struggle  of 
Gautama  was  most  intense.  He  wandered  back  to  a 
village  to  get  his  morning  meal.  He  sat  down  to  eat  it 
under  a  tree,  known  from  that  day  to  this  as  the  "  Bo-tree," 
or  tree  of  Wisdom.  There  he  remained  through  the  long 
hours  of  that  day,  debating  with  himself  what  next  to  do. 
Tlie  philosophy  he  had  trusted  in  seemed  to  be  doubtful; 
the  penance  he  had  practiced  so  long  had  brought  no 
certainty,  no  peace ;  and  all  his  old  temptations  came 
back  upon  him  with  renewed  force.  F'or  years  he  had 
looked  at  all  (earthly  good  as  vanity,  worthless  and  transi- 
tory. Nay,  more,  he  had  thought  that  it  contained  within 
itself  the  seeds  of  evil,  and  must  inevitably,  sooner  or 
later,  bring  forth  its  bitter  fruit.  But  now  to  his  wavering 
faith  the  sweet  delights  of  home  and  love,  the  charms  of 
wealth  and  power,  began  to  show  themselves  in  a  different 
light  and  to  glow  again  with  attractive  colors.  They  were 
yet  within  his  reach ;  he  knew  he  would  be  welcomed  back, 
and  yet — would  there  even  then  be  satisfaction  ?  Were 
all  his  labors  to  be  lost?  Was  there  7zo  sure  eround  to 
stand  on  ?     Thus  he  agonized  in  his  doubt  from  the  early 


cQg  EHROR'S  CHAINS. 


J 


morning-  until  sunset.  But  as  the  day  ended  the  religious 
side  of  his  nature  had  won  the  victory ;  his  doubt  had 
cleared  away ;  /le  had  become  a  Buddha^  that  is  an  En- 
lightened One  ;  he  had  grasped,  as  it  seemed  to  him,  the 
solution  of  the  great  mystery  of  sorrow,  and  had  learned 
at  once  its  causes  and  its  cure.  He  seemed  to  have 
gained  the  haven  of  peace,  and  in  the  power  over  the 
hujnan  heart  of  inward  culture,  and  of  love  to  others,  to 
rest  at  last  on  a  certitude  that  could  never  be  shaken. 
He  renounced  his  penances,  and  from  that  time  declared 
that  no  good  resulted  from  them.  It  was  a  grand  theory 
of  self-salvation  that  he  had  wrought  out  for  himself — 
salvation  by  self-control  and  love — without  any  rites, 
ceremonies,  charming  priestly  powers,  without  even  the 
aid  of  the  gods,  man  could  save  himself. 

Like  the  later  great  reformer,  Mohammed,  Gautama  the 
Buddha,  had  the  most  perfect  confidence  in  himself,  his 
convictions  and  his  mission  ;  this  mission  was  "  to  set 
rolling  the  royal  chariot-wheel  of  a  universal  empire  of 
truth  and  righteousness."  He  went  to  Benares,  and 
there,  by  teaching,  sought  to  spread  the  knowledge  of 
his  method  of  reaching  a  perfect  inward  peace.  In  about 
three  months  he  had  gathered  together  sixty  disciples ; 
these  he  sends  forth  to  preach  his  faith.  He  himself  was 
accustomed  to  travel,  preach  and  teach,  except  during 
the  four  rainy  months,  from  June  to  October,  when  he 
remained  in  one  place,  instructing  his  declared  disciples. 
Once  he  visited  his  old  home,  and  his  wife,  Yasodhara, 
became  one  of  his  disciples ;  she  was  the  first  of  the 
Buddhist  nuns.  Gautama  died  at  the  age  of  eighty 
years.  His  body  was  burned  with  much  pomp,  and  his 
disciples  contended  for  the  unburned  bones.  They  were 
divided  in  eight  parts,  and  temple-mounds,  called  topes, 
were  built  over  each. 


BUDDHA,   THE  "LIGHT  OF  ASIA:' 


509 


THE    "  LIGHT   OF    ASIA "    AND    THE    "  LIGHT   OF   THE  WORLD." 

One  cannot  help  comparing  Gautama,  the  Buddha,  and 
Jesus,  the  Christ.  There  is,  beyond  question,  a  great 
deal  of  both  good  and  evil  in  Buddha's  life  and  teaching. 


IDOL  OF  BUDDHA.     HIS  IDOLS  ARK  USUALLY  OF  THIS  SHAPE,  PROPORTION 
AND  POSITION,  THOUGH  INFINITELY  VARIED  IN  SIZE  AND  QUALITY. 

It  is  wise  for  us  to  recognize  both  crood  and  evil,  and  to 
"hold  fast  to  that  which  is  good."  We  do  not  think  that 
it  is  placing  Buddha  on  too  high  a  ground  when  we  say 


5IO 


JlA'J^OA^H    i^IIAlNS. 


that  he  stands  nearest  to  Christ  of  all  the  founders  of  reli- 
gions. We  must  not  confound  the  teachings  of  Buddha 
with  the  superstitious  notions  of  his  followers  of  to-day. 
The  present  Buddhism  of  Asia  is  but  little  like  the  Bud- 
dhism of  Gautama's  teaching.  Further,  we  must  strip  off 
the  legends,  the  additions  of  a  later  day,  and  seek  to  read 
the  story  of  his  life  that  lies  beneath  them.  In  addition 
to  this,  we  must  try  to  place  ourselves  in  closest  sym- 
pathy with  our  subject. 

Thus  we  see  the  beauties  of  this  life.  Looked  at  in  this 
way,  we  discover  a  great  deal  in  Buddha's  character  to 
admire.  Saint-Hilaire  says  (we  give  a  free  translation 
from  the  French)  :  "  His  life  has  no  stain.  His  constant 
heroism  equals  his  conviction  ;  and  if  the  theory  which  he 
extols  is  faultless,  the  personal  example  which  he  pre- 
sents is  irreproachable.  He  is  the  finished  model  of  all 
the  virtues  which  he  preached  ;  his  teaching  of  self-denial, 
of  charity,  of  an  unchangeable  mildness,  do  not  for  a  single 
instant  receive  the  contradiction  of  a  different  life.  He 
abandons,  at  the  age  of  twenty-nine  years,  the  court  of 
his  royal  father  to  become  a  devotee  and  a  mendicant;  he 
prepares  silently  his  doctrines  during  six  years  of  medi- 
tation and  retreat ;  he  extends  his  faith  only  by  the  power 
of  speech  and  persuasion,  during  half  a  century;  and 
when  he  dies  in  the  arms  of  his  disciples,  it  is  with  the 
serenity  of  a  sage  who  has  lived  well,  and  who  is  assured 
that  he  has  found  the  truth."  It  is  not  our  purpose  to 
compare  here  the  teachings  of  Buddha  and  Christ,  but 
simply  the  life.  It  is  a  comparison  that  we  would  make, 
and  not  a  contrast.  Buddha's  self-denial  for  the  world's 
good,  his  wondrously  pure  life,  and  the  heavenliness  of 
his  manners  and  of  some  of  his  teachinsfs  greatly  resem- 
ble those  of  lesus  Christ.  Yet,  after  all.  he  stands  a  longr 
way  off      He  is  a  light,  it  is  true,  yet  but  feebly  shining 


BUDDHA,  THE  "LIGHT  OF  ASIA.-  5  i  i 

beside  the  light  of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness.     To  Christ, 
Gautama  is  but 

"As  moonlight  is  to  sunlight,  and  as  water  is  to  wine." 

The  Buddha  was  the  son  of  a  king ;  Jesus,  the  Christ, 
was  the  son  of  a  carpenter.     The  Buddha  grew  up  in  the 
midst  of  the  splendors  of  a  court;  Jesus,  the  Christ,  was 
reared  in  a  despised  city,  in  an  humble  home.     Yet  the 
aspect  of  the  Buddha  is  that  of  a  disciple,  a  learner,  an 
inquirer  ;  that  of  the  Christ  is  that  of  a  master,  a  teacher. 
The  Buddha  seems  rather  to  be  a  subject,  and  the  Christ 
the  king.     The  Buddha  approaches  the  solution  of  the 
o-reat  problems  of  sin,  suffering  and  death  from  below. 
He  walks  as  one   in  a  maze,  with  uncertain  steps ;   he 
tries  experiments ;  he  goes  from  one  teacher  to  another. 
Finally,  of  a  sudden,  comes  the  answer  to  the  problems 
with  which  he  has  been  puzzled ;  he  throws  the  spectre 
with  which    he    has    been   grappling.      The   Christ  ap- 
proaches the  great  and  grave  questions,  that  have  been 
puzzling  the  world,  as  one  who  has  the  answers  in  his 
possession.     He  comes  to  teach,  and  not  to  learn ;  to 
setde,  and  not  to  disturb.     There  is  no  hesitating  uncer- 
tainty about  His  words  or  steps  as  there  is  about  the 
Buddha's.      In  meedng  temptation,  the  Buddha  shows 
weakness,  where  the   Christ  shows  strength.     The  Bud- 
dha's life  was  long ;  the  Christ's  was  short.     The  Bud- 
dha gave,  undoubtedly,  many  wholesome  precepts;    but 
there'^is  an  element  of  kindly,  self-forgetting  love  about 
the   Christ's  teachings  that  is  absent  from  the  Buddha's. 
Indeed,  this  is  the  emphatic  point  of  superiority,  that  the 
Buddha  kept  constandy  before  his  disciples  //^^-/r  welfare  ; 
he  taught  how  a  man  might  deliver  himself  horn  suffer- 
ing-.    The  Christ  makes  self-salvation  but  a  part  of  His 
disciples'  work.     The  Buddha  has  next  to  nothing  to  say 


-^2  ERROR'S   CJJAINS, 

about  God;  the  Christ  has  all  to  say  about  God.  The 
Christ  seeks  to  show  how  man's  life  is  attached  to  God 
at  every  point ;  he  exhibits  the  true  character  of  God, 
presenting  a  picture  infinitely  superior  to  that  drawn  by 
the  hand  of  any  of  the  founders  of  religions,  or  by  the 
highest  imaginations  of  the  purest  men.  In  brief,  the 
Buddha's  life  and  teachings  were  unquestionably  good, 
but  the  Christ's  unquestionably  better.  This  will  be  more 
apparent  as,  in  the  following  chapters,  we  study  the  work- 
incr  out  of  the  Buddha's  teachinq^s.  We  shall  see  how 
much  and  how  little  they  benefited  the  race.  Let  the 
test  of  time  be  applied  to  the  answers  he  brought  to  the 
puzzling  problems  of  sin,  suffering  and  sorrow,  and  see 
if  they  have  wrought  out  the  good  for  which  the  Buddha 
looked,  hoped  and  prayed.  We  shall  see  a  partial  suc- 
cess and  a  partial  failure,  and  see  the  undoubted  neces- 
sity of  giving  the  knowledge  of  the  Gospel  to  the  nations 
who  have  known  nothing  better  than  that  which  Buddha 
had  to  tell. 


THE  BUDDHIST  BIBLE.  5  i  3 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

THE      BUDDHIST     BIBLE,     THE     "THREE      BASKETS,"     AND     ITS 

TEACHINGS. 

There  is  that  in  Buddhism,  intelligible  to  the  poor  and  the  suffering, 
which  has  endeared  Buddhism  to  the  hearts  of  millions  not  the  silly, 
metaphysical  phantasmagorias  of  worlds  of  gods  and  worlds  of 
Brahma,  or  final  dissolution  of  the  soul  in  Nirvana.  No,  the  beau- 
tiful, the  tender,  the  humanly  true,  which,  like  pure  gold,  lies  buried 
in  all  religions,  even  in  the  sand  of  the  Buddhist  canon.— F.  Max 

MllLLER. 

GAUTAMA  had  himself  thoroughly  worked  out 
his  system  of  religion.    With  regard  to  his  teach- 
ino-s,  we  have  more  reliable  information  than  in 
regard  to  his  life.     During  his  fifty  years  of  teaching  he 
had  ample  time  to  repeat  over  and  over  again  to  his  dis- 
ciples the  principles  of  his  faith.     In  the  interval  between 
Buddha's    death   and  the    reign  of  the   Buddhist   king, 
Asoka  (in  307  B.  C),  legends  and  stories  of  miraculous 
deeds  multiplied  about  the  narrative  of  Buddha's  life. 
Gautama  Buddha's  teachings  were  committed  to  writing 
and  commentaries  were  written  upon  these.     To  deter- 
mine what  were  the  genuine  Buddhist  sacred  books,  and 
what  were  apocryphal,  a  council  was  called  by  King  Asoka. 
This  king  was  to  the   Buddhists  what  Constantine  the 
Great  was  to  the  early  Christian  Church.     King  Asoka 
said  to  the  assembled  priests,  "  what  has  been  said  by 
Buddha,  that  alone  is  well  said."     The  canon  of  sacred 
books,  as  declared  by  this  council,  include  the  collection 


-I^  EJ^HOK'S   CHAINS. 

called  the  Trlpitaka,  or  "  Three  Baskets."  These  are  to 
Buddhism  what  the  New  Testament  is  to  Christianity; 
in  these  we  find  the  orthodox  belief.  The  first  of  these 
baskets  is  called  the  Vinaya,  and  contains  all  of  Buddha's 
teachings  that  refer  to  morality;  the  second  is  called 
the  Sutras,  containing  the  sermons  of  Buddha ;  the  third 
is  called  the  Abhidharma,  containing  all  that  treats  of 
philosophy  and  metaphysics.  The  general  name,  Dharma, 
or  "  law,"  is  applied  to  the  second  and  third  Pitakas,  or 
baskets.  The  first  and  second  baskets  each  contain  five 
separate  works,  and  the  third  basket  seven.  In  addition 
to  these  books  the  Buddhists  look  upon  the  commen- 
taries and  parables  of  the  famous  Buddhist  missionary, 
Buddhaghosha,  as  of  nearly  equal  value.  These  were 
written  about  430  A.  D.  Still  further,  we  have  the  work 
called  the  Dharma  Pada,  or  "Footsteps  of  the  Law." 
This  is  a  book  of  Buddhist's  morals,  and  Spence  Hardy, 
one  of  the  best  writers  on  Buddhism,  says  that  a  collec- 
tion of  precepts  might  be  made  from  this  w  ork,  which  in 
purity  of  morals  could  hardly  be  equaled  by  any  heathen 
author.  We  now  give  a  summary  of  Buddha's  teachings 
on  the  more  important  topics  as  found  In  the  Tripitakas. 

THE    BUDDHIST   \VAY    OF    SALVATION. 

The  method  of  salvation  which  was  wrought  out  by 
Buddha  has  been  admirably  summarized  by  Rhys-David 
as  follows:  "So  long  as  man  is  bound  up  by  bodily  ex- 
istence with  the  material  world  he  is  liable  to  sorrow, 
decay  and  death.  So  long  as  he  allows  unholy  desires 
to  reign  within  him,  there  will  be  unsatisfied  longings, 
useless  weariness  and  care.  To  attempt  to  purify  him- 
self by  oppressing  his  body  would  be  only  wasted  effort ; 
it  is  the  moral  evil  of  a  man's  heart  which  keeps  him 
chained  down   in  the  degraded  state  of  bodily  life — of 


THE  BUDDHIST  BIBLE.  -^  - 

union  with  the  material  world.  It  is  of  little  avail  to  add 
virtue  to  his  badness,  for  so  long  as  there  is  evil,  his 
goodness  will  only  insure  him  for  a  time,  and  in  another 
birth,  a  higher  form  of  material  life  ;  only  the  complete 
eradication  of  all  evil  will  set  him  free  from  the  chains  of 
existence  and  carry  him  to  the  'other  side,'  where  he  will  be 
no  longer  tossed  about  on  the  waves  of  the  ocean  of  trans- 
migration. But  Christian  ideas  must  not  be  put  into 
these  Buddhist  expressions.  Of  any  immaterial  exist- 
ence, Buddhism  knows  nothing.  The  foundations  of  its 
creed  have  been  summed  up  in  the  very  ancient  formula 
probably  invented  by  its  founder,  which  is  called  the  Four 
Great  TriLths.  These  are :  i.  That  misery  always  ac- 
companies existence,  2.  That  all  modes  of  existence  (of 
men  or  animals,  in  earth  and  heaven)  result  from  passion 
or  desire  (tantra).  3.  That  there  is  no  escape  from  ex- 
istence except  by  destruction  of  desire.  4.  That  this 
may  be  had  by  following  the  fourfold  way  to  Nirvana. 

"Of  these  four  prescribed  stages  called  'the  Paths'  the 
first  is  an  awakening  of  the  heart.  There  are  few  that 
do  not  acknowledge  that  no  man  can  be  really  called 
happy,  and  that  men  are  born  to  trouble  as  the  sparks 
fly  upward,  but  the  majority  glide  through  life  filling  up 
their  time  with  business  or  with  pleasure,  buoyed  up 
with  ever-changing  hopes  in  their  mad  pursuit  of  some 
fancied  good.  When  the  scales  fall  from  their  eyes, 
when  they  begin  to  realize  the  great  mystery  of  sorro7.i\ 
that  pain  is  inseparable  from  existence,  and  that  all 
earthly  good  leads  to  vexation  of  spirit,  when  they  turn 
for  comfort  and  for  guidance  to  the  Enlightened  One, 
then  they  may  be  said  to  be  awake,  and  to  have  entered  the 
fii^st  stage  of  the  Buddhist  way  of  salvation.  When  the 
awakened  believer  has  gone  further,  and  got  rid,  first, 
of  all  impure  desires,  and  then  of  all  revengeful  feelings,  he 


5i6 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


has  reached  the  second  stage ;  in  the  third  he  successively 
becomes  free  (i)  {rom  all  evil  desires,  (2)  from  igno7'a7ice, 
(3)  from  doubt,  (4)  from  heresy,  2ind  (5)  from  unkindliness 
a7td  vexation.  *As  even  at  the  risk  of  her  own  Hfe  a 
mother  watches  over  her  child,  her  only  child,  so  let  him 
(the  Buddhist  saint)  exert  good-will  without  measure 
toward  all  beino-s.' " 

The  order  here  observed  is  very  remarkable.  The 
way  to  be  freed  from  doubt  and  heresy  lies  through  free- 
dom from  impurity  and  revenge,  and  evil  longings  of  all 
kinds  ;  or,  in  other  words,  if  a  man  awakened  to  a  deep 
sense  of  the  mystery  of  sorrow  wishes  to  understand  the 
real  facts  of  existence,  wishes  to  believe  not  the  false  or 
the  partly  false,  but  the  true  altogether,  Buddha  tells  him 
not  to  set  to  work  and  study,  not  to  torture  himself  with 
asceticism  or  privation,  but  to  purify  his  mind  from  all 
unholy  desires  and  passions :  right  actions  spring  from  a 
pure  mind,  and  to  the  pure  in  heart  all  things  are  open. 
Again,  the  first  enemy  which  the  awakened  believer  has 
to  fight  against  is  sensuality,  and  the  last  is  unkindliness. 
It  is  impossible  to  build  anything  on  a  foundation  of  mire; 
and  the  topstone  of  all  that  one  can  build,  the  highest 
point  he  can  reach,  the  point  above  purity,  above  justice, 
above  even  faith,  is,  according  to  Buddha,  universal 
chaidty.  Till  he  has  gained  that,  the  believer  is  still 
bound ;  he  is  not  free  ;  his  mind  is  still  dark.  True  en- 
lightenment, true  freedom,  are  complete  only  in  love. 

The  believer  who  has  gone  thus  far  has  reached  the 
last  stage ;  he  has  cut  the  meshes  of  ignorance,  passion 
and  sin,  and  has  thus  escaped  from  the  net  of  transmi- 
gration ;  Nirvana  is  already  within  his  grasp ;  he  has 
risen  above  the  laws  of  material  existence ;  the  secrets 
of  the  future  and  the  past  lie  open  before  him  ;  and  when 
this  one  short  life  is  over,  he  will  be  free  forever  from 


THE  BUDDHIST  BIBLE.  j-j« 

birth  with  its  inevitable  consequences,  decay  and  death. 
No  Buddhist  now  hopes  to  reach  this  stage  on  earth ; 
but  he  who  has  once  entered  the  "  paths  "  cannot  leave 
them ;  the  final  perseverance  of  the  saints  is  sure ;  and 
sooner  or  later,  under  easier  conditions  in  some  less 
material  world,  he  will  win  the  great  prize,  and,  entering 
Nirvana,  be  at  rest  forever  with  other  triumphant  victors. 

WHAT    IS    NIRVANA? 

The  central  doctrine  of  Buddhism,  the  cfoal  of  all  its 
hopes,  the  end  of  all  its  struggles,  is  Nirvana  or  Nigbaru 
But  what  does  this  mean  ?  Some  learned  men  say,  ab- 
sorption or  swallowing  up  into  the  Deity ;  others,  that  it 
means  a  perfect  annihilation,  a  ceasing  to  be  or  exist ; 
while  still  others  say  that  it  simply  means  reaching  a 
state  of  perfect  inward  rest.  Nirvana  means,  literally, 
"a  blowing  out,"  as  of  a  candle.  We  cannot  conceive  it 
possible  that  any  one  could  teach  the  hopeless,  despair- 
ing doctrine  of  annihilation,  and  cannot  help  believing 
that  the  last  interpretation  is  the  true  one — that  Nirvana 
means  a  perfect,  inward  peace.  Certain  it  is  that  Bud- 
dha's followers  of  to-day  believe  in  a  definitely  located 
Paradise,  a  place  of  perfect  enjoyment.  Nirvana  is  an 
extinction,  but  of  what?  Of  the  life  of  the  soul?  or  of 
the  passions,  of  selfishness,  desire  and  sin  ?  and  of  the 
unrest  produced  by  these  ?  Nirvana  is  called  the  highest 
happiness.  As  Max  Miiller  says,  "  It  represented  the 
entrance  of  the  soul  into  rest,  a  subduing  of  all  wishes 
and  desires,  indifference  to  joy  and  pain,  to  good  and 
evil,  an  absorption  of  the  soul  in  itself,  and  a  freedom 
from  the  circles  of  existences  from  birth  to  death,  and  from 
death  to  a  new  birth.  This  is  still  the  meaning  which 
educated  people  attach  to  it,  whilst  to  the  minds  of  the 
larger  masses,  Nirvana  suggests  rather  the  idea  of  a 
32 


rjg  £A'A'OA'\S    CHAINS. 

Mohammedan  Paradise  or  of  blissful  Elysian  fields." 
Buddha,  himself,  once  said:  "Those  only  who  have  ar- 
rived at  Nirvana  are  at  rest."  Closely  associated  with 
Nirvana  is  the  idea  of  the  transmigration  of  the  soul ; 
that  the  soul  after  death  passes  from  one  body  to  an- 
other ;  sometimes  the  body  in  which  the  soul  is  born 
again  is  that  of  an  animal,  sometimes  of  a  man.  The 
Buddhists  kill  no  animals,  for  fear  of  annoying  the  soul 
of  a  dead  man,  which  may  be  living  in  the  animal.  For 
this  reason  they  also  take  great  care  of  wounded  and  sick 
'animals.  In  Bombay  is  a  hospital  for  animals,  carried  on 
very  successfully  by  the  Jains,  a  Buddhist  sect.    • 

BUDDHIST    MORALS. 

The  wonderfully  pure  and  exalted  teachings  of  Buddha 
have  been  gathered  together  in  the  Dharma  Pada,  or 
"  Footsteps  of  the  Law."  Many  of  them  greatly  re- 
semble the  teachings  of  our  Holy  Scriptures,  others  are 
absurdly  ridiculous,  while  still  others  are  metaphysical 
abstractions,  and  are  wholly  meaningless.  The  great 
majority  are,  however,  full  of  wondrous  wisdom.  The  fol- 
lowing selections  are  translations  from  the  Pali  language: 

SOME    OF   THE    "  FOOTSTEPS    OF    THE    LAW." 

There  is  no  fire  like  passion ;  there  is  no  shark  like 
hatred;  there  is  no  snare  like  folly;  there  is  no  torrent 
like  crreed. 

A  man  is  not  learned  because  he  talks  much. 

A  man  is  not  an  elder  because  his  head  is  gray ;  his 
age  may  be  ripe,  but  he  is  called  "Old-in-vain." 

For  hatred  does  not  cease  by  hatred  at  any  time ; 
hatred  ceases  by  love.     This  is  an  old  rule. 

He  who  lives  looking  for  pleasure  only,  his  senses  un- 
controlled, immoderate  in  his  enjoyments,  idle  and  weak^ 


THE  B I  ^DDHIS T  BIBLE.  c  j  g 

Mara  (the  tempter)  will  certainly  overcome  him,  as  the 
wind  throws  down  a  weak  tree. 

He  who  lives  without  looking  for  pleasures,  his  senses 
well  controlled,  in  his  enjoyments  moderate,  faithful  and 
strong,  Mara  will  certainly  not  overcome  him,  any  more 
than  the  wind  throws  down  a  rocky  mountain. 

As  rain  breaks  through  an  ill-thatched  house,  passion 
will  break  through  an  unreflecting  mind. 

The  evil-doer  suffers  in  this  world,  and  he  suffers  in 
the  next ;  he  suffers  in  both.  He  suffers  when  he  thinks 
of  the  evil  he  has  done  ;.  he  suffers  more  when  eoinof  on 
the  evil  path. 

The  virtuous  man  is  happy  in  this  world,  and  he  is 
happy  in  the  next ;  he  is  happy  in  both.  He  is  happy 
when  he  thinks  of  the  good  he  has  done  ;  he  is  still  more 
happy  when  going  on  the  good  path. 

The  scent  of  flowers  does  not  travel  against  the  wind, 
nor  (that  of)  sandal-wood,  or  of  a  bottle  of  Tagara  oil ; 
but  the  odor  of  good  people  travels  even  against  the 
wind ;  a  good  man  pervades  every  place. 

As  on  a  heap  of  rubbish  cast  upon  the  highway  the 
lily  will  grow  full  of  sweet  perfume  and  delightful,  thus 
the  disciple  of  the  truly  enlightened  Buddha  shines  forth 
by  his  knowledge  among  those  who  are  like  rubbish, 
among  the  people  that  walk  in  darkness. 

The  fool  who  knows  his  foolishness,  is  wise  at  least  so 
far.  But  a  fool  who  thinks  himself  wise,  he  is  called  a 
fool  indeed. 

The  gods  even  envy  him  whose  senses  have  been  sub- 
dued, like  horses  well  broken  in  by  the  driver,  who  is 
free  from  pride,  and  free  from  frailty. 

Even  though  a  speech  be  a  thousand  (of  words)  but 
made  up  of  senseless  words,  one  word  of  sense  is  better, 
which  if  a  man  hears,  he  becomes  quiet. 


r.20  £AVCOA-'S    C//A/i\'S. 

If  one  man  conquer  in  battle  a  thousand  times  thousand 
men,  and  if  another  conquer  himself,  he  is  the  greatest 
of  conquerors. 

Let  no  man  think  lightly  of  evil,  saying  in  his  heart,  It 
will  not  come  near  unto  me.  Even  by  the  falling  of 
water-drops  a  water-pot  is  filled.  The  fool  becomes  full  ol 
evil,  even  if  he  gathers  it  little  by  little. 

Let  no  one  forget  his  own  duty  for  the  sake  of  an- 
other's, however  great.  Let  a  man,  after  he  has  discerned 
his  own  dut)^  be  always  attentive  to  his  duty. 

The  wise  who  control  their  body,  who  control  their 
tonofue,  the  wise  who  control  their  mind,  are  indeed  well 
controlled. 

And  the  man  who  trives  himself  to  drinkinp-intoxicatinor 
liquors,  he,  even  in  this  world,  digs  up  his  own  root. 

Akin  to  these  are  the  followintr  blessincrs  of  Buddha: 

BUDDHIST    BEATITUDES. 

One  of  the  gods  says  to  Gautama: 

1.  Many  angels  and  men 

Have  held  various  things  blessings, 
When  they  were  yearning  for  happiness. 
Do  thou  declare  to  us  the  chief  good. 

Gautama  answers: 

2.  Not  to  serve  the  foolish, 
But  to  serve  the  wise ; 

To  honor  those  worthy  of  honor: 
This  is  the  greatest  blessing. 

3.  T©  dwell  in  a  pleasant  land, 
Good  works  done  in  a  former  birth, 
Right  desires  in  the  heart: 

This  is  the  greatest  blessing. 

4.  Much  insight  and  education, 
Self  control  and  pleasant  speech. 
And  whntever  word  be  well-spoken  : 

This  is  the  greatest  blessing. 


THE  B I  UnilllS T  BIBLE.  ^  2  I 

5.  To  support  father  and  mother, 
To  cherish  wife  and  child, 

To  follow  a  peaceful  calling  : 
This  is  the  greatest  blessing. 

6.  To  bestow  alms  and  live  righteously, 
To  give  help  to  kindred. 

Deeds  which  cannot  be  blamed  : 
These  are  the  greatest  blessings. 

7.  To  abhor  and  cease  from  sin, 
Abstinence  from  strong  drink, 
Not  to  be  weary  in  well-doing : 

These  are  the  greatest  blessings. 

8.  Reverence  and  lowliness. 
Contentment  and  gratitude. 

The  hearing  of  the  Law  at  due  seasons: 
This  is  the  greatest  blessing. 

9.  To  be  long-suffering  and  meek, 

To  associate  with  the  tranquil  (/.  <?.,  Buddhist  monks), 
Religious  talk  at  due  seasons : 
This  is  the  greatest  blessing 

10.  Self-restraint  and  purity. 

The  knowledge  of  the  Noble  Truths, 
The  realization  of  Nirvana: 
This  is  the  greatest  blessing. 

11.  Beneath  the  stroke  of  life's  changes. 
The  mind  that  shaketh  not; 
Without  grief  or  passion,  and  secure  : 

This  is  the  greatest  blessing. 

12.  On  every  side  are  invincible 
They  who  do  acts  like  these. 

On  every  side  they  walk  in  safety. 
And  theirs  is  the  greatest  blessing. 


522 


£A'A'OA'S    CHA/NS. 


CHAPTER  XXVIIL 

THE      GROWTH      OF      BUDDHISM THE     BUDDHIST    ORDER     OF 

MENDICANTS. 

What  proud  Emperors 
Carved  his  sweet  words  upon  the  rocks  and  caves ; 
And  how — in  fullness  of  the  times — it  fell 
The  Buddha  died,  the  great  Tathagato, 
Even  as  a  man  'mongst  men,  fulfilling  all : 
And  how  a  thousand  thousand  crores*  since  then 
Have  trod  the  Path  which  leads  whither  he  went 
Unto  Nirvana  where  the  Silence  lives. 

Edwin  Arnold,  in  the  "  Light  of  Asia." 

BUDDHISM  is  a  missionary  system.  It  has  spread 
far  beyond  the  land  of  its  birth,  all  over  Asia. 
The  methods  of  its  spread  were  entirely  different 
from  those  of  Mohammedanism,  while  they  somewhat 
resembled  those  of  Christianity.  To-day  Buddhism 
numbers  about  two-fifths  of  the  world's  population  among 
its  adherents.  It  is  still  in  vioforous  life.  It  has  been 
propagated  mainly  through  the  Sangha,  or  Buddhist 
Order  of  Mendicants.  The  dates  usually  assigned  for 
the  entrance  of  Buddhism  into  other  lands  are  as  fol- 
lows: Into  Ceylon,  250  B.  C. ;  into  China,  65  A.  D. ;  into 
Corea,  372  A.  D. ;  into  Burmah,  450  A.  D. ;  into  Japan, 
552  A.  D. ;  into  Thibet,  about  625  A.  D. ;  and  into 
Siam,  6T)^  A.  D.  While  some  of  these  have  been  ques- 
tioned, no  good  reason  has  yet  been  given  for  accepting 
any  others. 

*  A  crore  is  10,000,000;   a  thousand  thousand  crores  would  be   lo  million  millions. 


THE  GR  O II  'T/i  OF  B  UDDHISM.  r  2  l 

We  shall  at  present  discuss  the  character  and  consti- 
tution of  the  Buddhist  brotherhood  of  the  Sanghc,  leav- 
inof  the  stories  of  the  introduction  of  Buddhism  into  the 
various  countries  to  be  told  in  their  respective  places. 

THE    SANGHA,    OR    BUDDHIST    BROTHERHOOD. 

All  of  Buddha's  disciples  who  had  taken  the  vows  of 
asceticism  were  known  by  the  name  of  Sangha,  meaning 
"congregation"  or  "church."  The  organization  of  this 
order  had  the  most  to  do  with  the  spread  of  Buddhism. 
Keep  in  mind  that,  in  common  with  almost  all  reformers, 
Gautama,  the  Buddha,  did  not  intend  to  cut  loose  from 
his  old  faith.  He  hoped  to  make  the  new  wine  of  his 
teachings  go  into  the  old  bottles  of  Brahminism.  We 
believe  that  he  did  not  intend  or  expect  that  his  religion 
should  spread  over  Asia.  Further,  it  was  not  so  much 
due  to  his  doctrine  of  the  Dharma,  or  "law,"  that  his  re- 
ligion gained  so  wide  an  acceptance,  as  it  was  due  to  his 
establis.;ment  of  the  order  of  the  Sanofha.  Here  is  one 
point  of  wide  divergence  from  the  missionary  labors  of 
Christianity.  Its  founder,  Jesus  Christ,  did  intend,  and 
distinctly  stated  His  intention  of  giving  His  religion  to  the 
world.  The  order  of  the  Sanafha  was  a  s'rowth.  Little 
by  little,  as  occasion  demanded,  Gautama  laid  down  rules 
for  those  who  would  be  his  disciples,  and  unconsciously 
these  disciples  became  more  and  more  exclusive,  shut- 
ting in  themselves  and  shutting  out  all  others.  Finally, 
after  Gautama's  death,  they  became  a  distinct  body. 

THE    INITIATION    CEREMONY. 

Any  one  who  was  free  from  contagious  disease,  who 
was  neither  a  slave,  a  debtor  nor  a  soldier,  and  who  had 
obtained  the  consent  of  his  parents,  might  be  admitted  to 
the  order.     The  following  account  of  the  ceremony  of 


C24  £A'A'OA'S    CI/AIA'S. 

admission  has  been  compiled  by  T.  W.  Rhys-David,  late 
of  the  Ceylon  civil  service : 

"  The  layman  who  wishes  for  entrance  to  the  Order 
must  be  at  least  eight  years  old  before  obtaining  the 
novitiate,  and  at  least  twenty  before  receiving  full  ordi- 
nation. On  the  day  appointed,  a  chapter  is  held,  of  not 
less  than  ten  monks,  the  president  being  of  at  least  ten 
years'  standing.  The  monks  forming  the  chapter  sit  on 
mats,  in  two  rows,  facing  each  other,  the  president  being 
at  the  head  of  one  row.  The  candidate,  in  lay  dress,  but 
carrying  the  three  yellow  robes  of  a  mendicant,  is  intro- 
duced by  his  proposer  (always  a  monk),  makes  a  saluta- 
tion to  the  president,  and  offers  him  a  small  present  as  a 
token  of  respect.  He  then  three  times  asks  for  admis- 
sion as  a  novice.  '  Have  pity  on  me,  lord  ;  take  these 
robes,  and  let  me  be  ordained,  that  I  may  escape  from 
sorrow  and  experience  Nirvana,'  The  president  then 
takes  the  bundle  of  robes,  and  ties  them  around  the  can- 
didate's neck,  repeating,  meanwhile,  a  formula  of  medita- 
tion on  the  perishable  nature  of  the  human  body.  The 
candidate  then  retires,  and  changes  his  dress,  repeating 
the  while  a  formula  to  the  effect  that,  though  he  wears 
robes,  he  does  so  only  out  of  modesty,  and  as  a  protec- 
tion from  heat,  cold,  etc.  When  he  reappears  clad  as  3 
mendicant,  he  kneels  before  the  president,  and  repeat? 
after  him  three  times  two  well-known  Buddhist  formulas. 
The  first  of  these  is  that  called  the  '  Three  Refuges.' 

"  '  I  go  for  refuge  to  the  Buddha. 

"  *  I  vo  for  refuore  to  the  Law. 

"  T  cfo  for  refuofe  to  the  Order.' 

"  The  other  is  called  the  *  Ten  Precepts,'  which  are  as 
follows : 

"  '  I .  I  take  the  vow  not  to  destroy  life. 

"  '  2.  I  take  the  vow  not  to  steal. 


THE   GR O  If  'TH  OF  B  UDDHISM.  -  2  r 

"  '  3.  I  take  the  vow  to  abstain  from  impurity. 

"  '  4.  I  take  the  vow  not  to  he. 

"  '  5.  I  take  the  vow  to  abstain  from  intoxicating  drinks, 
which  hinder  progress  and  virtue. 

"  '  6.  I  take  the  vow  not  to  eat  at  forbidden  times, 

"  '  7.  I  take  the  vow  to  cd3stain  from  dancino-  sino-ino-, 
music  and  stage-plays. 

"'8.  I  take  the  vow  not  to  use  garlands,  scents,  un- 
guents or  ornaments. 

"  *  9.  I  take  the  vow  not  to  use  a  high  or  broad  bed. 

"  '  10.  I  take  the  vow  not  to  receive  gold  or  silver.' 

"  The  candidate  then  rises,  pays  respect  to  the  presi- 
dent, and  retires  a  novice.  Here,  for  the  novitiate,  the 
ceremony  ends." 

RULES    OF   THE    ORDER. 

Solid  food  is  forbidden,  except  between  sunrise  and 
noon,  and  total  abstinence  from  intoxicating  drinks  is  re- 
quired. The  monks,  or  brothers  of  the  order,  usualh- 
get  their  food  by  begging  from  door  to  door ;  each 
usually  carries  his  brown  earthenware  begging-bowd.  He 
says  nothing,  but  only  stands,  waiting,  at  the  open  door  of 
the  hut.  If'  something  is  given  him,  he  mutters  a  prayer 
for  the  giver,  but  if  nothing,  he  passes  on  in  silence. 

The  monks  generally  live  together  In  groves,  gardens 
or  monasteries.  At  first  they  led  a  lonely  life,  but  after- 
wards they  gathered  together  In  communities.  They 
were  required  to  dress  In  simple  garments  of  a  dull 
orange  color,  first  torn  in  pieces  and  then  sewn  together 
again,  so  that  they  had  no  salable  value.  They  wear 
three  robes  ;  and,  while  the  people  of  the  warmer  coun- 
tries wear  only  the  loin-cloth,  the  members  of  the  order 
were  required  to  keep  their  bodies  covered.  To  "  put 
off  the  robes"  was  equivalent  to  leaving  the  society. 


526 


£/CA'OA'-S    r/lALVS. 


Personal  incluloencc,  theft  and  murder  would  cause  the 
monk  who  committed  them  to  be  expelled  from  the  or- 
der. No  monk  was  allowed  to  possess  more  than  eight 
articles — the  three  robes,  a  girdle  for  the  loins,  a  begging- 
bowl,  a  razor,  a  needle  and  a  water-strainer.  The  com- 
munities of  monks,  however,  were  permitted  to  own 
property.  Unquestioning  obedience  to  superiors  is  never 
required  of  a  monk  among  the  Buddhists. 

DAILY    LIFE    OF    A    MONK. 

According  to  the  "  Manual  of  Exercises,"  the  daily  life 
of  a  monk  should  be  as  follows :  He  shall  rise  before 
daylight  and  wash;  then  sweep  the  wihara  or  residence 
— as  the  clean  little  hut  where  the  mendicant  lives  is 
called — then  sweep  round  the  Bo-tree,  fetch  the  drinking- 
water  for  the  day,  filter  it,  and  place  it  ready  for  use. 
Retiring  to  a  solitary  place,  he  shall  then  meditate  on  the 
regulations.  Then  he  shall  offer  flowers  before  the 
sacred  dagaba — the  solid  dome-shaped  shrine  in  which 
relics  of  the  Buddha  are  buried — or  before  the  Bo-tree, 
thinking  of  the  great  virtues  of  the  Teacher  and  of  his 
own  faults.  Soon  after,  taking  the  begging-bowl,  he  is 
to  follow  his  superior  in  his  daily  round  for  food,  and,  on 
their  return,  is  to  bring  water  for  his  feet  and  place  the 
alms-bowl  before  him.  After  the  meal  is  over,  he  is  to 
wash  the  alms-bowl,  then  again  to  worship  Buddha  and 
meditate  on  kindness  and  affection.  About  an  hour 
afterwards,  he  is  to  begin  his  studies  from  the  books,  or 
copy  one  of  them,  asking  his  superior  about  passages  he 
does  not  understand.  At  sunset,  he  is  again  to  sweep 
the  sacred  places,  and,  lighting  a  lamp,  to  listen  to  the 
teaching  of  his  superior,  and  repeat  such  passages  from 
the  canon  that  he  has  learned.  If  he  finds  he  has  com- 
mitted  any  fault,  he   is   to   tell   his  superior ;    he  is  to  be 


THE  GROWTH  OF  BUDDHISM. 


527 


content  with  such  things  as  he  has,  and,  keeping  under 
his  senses,  to  grow  in  grace  without  haughtiness  of  body, 
speech  or  mind. 

THE    THREE    GREAT    BUDDHIST    COUNCILS. 

Soon  after  Buddha's  death  a  council  of  500  members 
of  the  order  was  held  in  a  cave,  near  the  city  of  Raja- 
griha.  This  council  met  to  form  Buddha's  teachings  into 
some  sort  of  a  system.  A  second  council  of  700  was 
held  a  hundred  years  later.  This  was  to  effect  a  settle- 
ment between  certain  heretics  and  the  orthodox  party. 
The  Rules  of  the  Order  and  the  Doctrines  of  the  Faith 
were  passed  in  review  and  again  settled.  Then  the 
heretics  advanced  still  different  opinions  and  called  an 
opposition  council.  This  was  the  first  great  schism. 
From  this  tinae  sects  multiplied  among  the  Buddhists. 
The  next  council  was  the  Great  Council  of  King  Asoka. 
Asoka  was  to  ihe  Buddhist  Order  what  Constantine  was 
to  the  early  Christian  Church.  There  are  more  men  to 
honor  him  to-day  than  there  are  to  honor  Charlemagne 
or  Caesar.  Yet  Asoka  really  caused  the  downfall  of 
Buddhism  in  InJia  by  the  aid  he  crave  it.  As  Dante  had 
said  : 

"  Ah  !  Constantine,  of  how  much  ill  was  cause, 
Not  thy  conversion,  but  those  rich  domains 
That  the  first  wealthy  Pope  received  of  thee." 

Asoka  built  many  monasteries  and  provided  for  the 
support  of  many  monks.  He  became  a  very  zealous 
supporter  of  Buddhism,  Some  of  his  edicts,  based  upon 
Gautama's  teachings,  have  been  discovered  within  the 
last  fifty  years.  In  the  eighteenth  year  of  Asoka's  reign, 
a  great  council  of  1,000  monks  was  held  in  Patna.  This 
council  finally  determined  the  canon  of  the  sacred  Bud- 
dhist books.  This  council,  held,  probably,  in  the  year  246 


528 


£A'A'OA"S   CHAINS. 


B.  C,  lasted  nine  months.  Asoka  was  filled  with  an 
aggressive,  missionary  spirit,  and  at  the  close  of  this 
council  missionaries  were  sent  into  various  countries,  or 
provinces  of  India,  from  Cashmere  to  Ceylon.  The  mis- 
sion to  Ceylon  of  Asoka's  own  son,  Mahinda,  was  the 
most  important.  In  the  year  62  A.  D.,  the  Chinese 
Emperor  Ming-Ti  sent  to  India  and  brought  Buddhist 
books  to  China,  From  China  Buddhism  spread  into 
Corea  and  Japan  and  Thibet.  From  Ceylon  it  spread  to 
Burmah  and  Siam. 

Of  late  years  the  sources  of  our  information  as  to 
Buddhist  teachings  and  history  have  greatly  changed. 
Formerly  only  Ceylon  was  looked  to  for  this  informa- 
tion, but  of  late  years  the  work  of  Bigandet  in  Burmah, 
Alabaster  in  Siam,  Schlagintweit  in  Thibet,  and  Beal  in 
China,  have  given  more  thorough  knowledge  of  the  facts 
of  Buddhist  doctrine  and  history. 

EUDDHAGHOSHA,    THE    FAMOUS    MONK    AND    MISSIONARY. 

Buddhaghosha  lived  in  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century 
after  Christ.  He  is,  next  to  Asoka,  the  most  celebrated 
man  in  Buddhist  history.  He  visited  Ceylon,  where  he 
greatly  revived  the  Buddhist  faith.  He  then  went  to 
Burmah,  where  he  established  Buddhism  among  the  Bur- 
mese. From  these  people  it  spread  into  Arracan,  Pegu, 
and  finally  into  Siam.  He  wrote  a  famous  commentary 
on  the  Buddhist  Bible ;  some  scholars  believe  that  this  is 
but  a  translation  of  older  commentaries  which  Buddha- 
ghosha made,  and  that  his  parables  are  but  the  parables 
of  Mahinda  or  even  of  Gautama  re-written.  At  any 
rate,  they  go  by  Buddhaghosha's  name  among  the  Bur- 
mese Buddhists.  His  parables  are  very  interesting,  and 
are  used  by  the  monks  and  preachers  in  all  their  sermons. 
The  accompanying  story  of  King  Kakavanna  is  quoted 


THE  GROWTH  OF  BUDDHISM.  r2n 

from  Captain  Rogers'  translation  of  Buddhaghosha's 
Parables,  and  will  serve  as  a  fair  specimen  of  the  stories 
as  a  whole. 

THE    STORY    OF    KING    KAKAVANNA. 

A  Rahanda  once  preached  the  Law  to  Kakavanna,  his 
queen  and  concubines,  in  the  island  of  Ceylon.  King 
Kakavanna,  filled  with  love  for  the  Law,  resolved  to 
make  an  offering  of  the  putzo  which  he  was  wearing.  In 
a  spirit  of  niggardliness,  however,  he  thought  he  would 
defer  the  offering  until  the  next  day.  Two  crows,  a  hus- 
band and  wife,  who  were  perched  upon  the  tree  at 
the  foot  of  which  the  Law  had  been  preached,  knowing 
what  was  passing  in  the  king's  mind,  said  to  each  other: 
"The  king,  from  his  niggardly  spirit,  excellent  as  the  Law 
is,  cannot  make  up  his  mind  to  make  an  offering  of  the 
putzo."  Neither  the  queen,  nor  the  concubines,  nor  the 
nobles  understood  what  the  two  crows  were  saying  to 
each  other ;  but  the  king,  directly  he  heard  the  sound  of 
the  crows,  knew  what  they  said.  "  O  you  pair  of  crows," 
he  exclaimed,  "  how  dare  you  speak  so  of  a  king  like  me?" 
The  crows  replied,  "  Your  majesty,  do  not  take  the  putzo 
you  have  at  home,  but  make  an  offering  of  the  one  you 
are  wearing,  worth  a  hundred  thousand  pieces  of  gold. 
In  seven  days  hence  you  will  receive  the  five  rewards." 
The  king  smiled  at  the  crows'  speech.  My  lord,  the 
Rahanda,  who  had  been  preaching  the  Law,  said  to  the 
king,  "Why  does  your  majesty  smile  at  me?"  "I  was 
not  smiling  at  my  lord  Rahanda,"  replied  the  king ;  "  I 
was  smiling  at  what  the  two  crows  said."  The  Rahanda, 
who  possessed  the  Nat's  eye,  which  could  behold  eight 
past  and  eight  future  existences,  and  who  saw  the  pre- 
vious life  of  the  king,  said  to  him,  "  Great  king,  I  will  tell 
you  something ;  will  you  be  angry  with  me  ?"    "  My  lord," 


r^Q  ERKOA'S    CI /A  INS. 

replied  the  king-,  "  I  shall  not  be  angry  with  you  ;  deign 
to  tell  it  to  me."  My  lord,  the  Rahanda,  proceeded  : 
"When  your  majesty  was  a  poor  man  in  the  Anuradha 
country,  you  used  to  collect  firewood,  and  live  by  the  sale 
of  it.  One  day,  when  you  went  out  to  your  work,  you 
took  with  you  a  small  cupful  of  boiled  rice.  Coming 
across  a  heap  of  white  sand  which  looked  like  sheet-silver, 
you  reflected  that  your  poverty  must  have  been  occa- 
sioned by  your  not  possessing  the  merit  of  having  made 
offerings,  and  accordingly  you  raised  a  pagoda  of  the 
white  sand,  placed  in  front  of  it,  as  an  offering,  one-half 
of  the  rice  you  had  with  you,  and  gave  the  remaining 
half  to  the  crows  to  eat,  as  an  offering  to  the  Rahans. 
These  two  crows,  husband  and  wife,  are  the  very  same 
two  crows  who  ate  the  rice  of  which  you  made  the  offer- 
ing when  you  were  a  poor  man."  When  the  king  heard 
this,  he  exclaimed,  "  Oh,  how  unstable  is  prosperity !  I 
have  obtained  the  position  of  king  only  from  making 
offerings  at  a  sand  pagoda  !"  So  saying,  he  made  an 
offering  to  the  Law  of  the  putzo  he  was  wearing. 

Seven  days  afterwards,  the  five  rewards  came  to  the 
king.     The  five  rewards  were  these  : 

The  Nats,  wrapping  up  in  a  thingan  the  relics  of  an 
excellent  Rahanda  who  had  obtained  Paranlbbana  while 
he  was  up  in  the  sky,  and  which  were  like  a  jasmine-bud, 
came  and  laid  them  down  before  the  king.  In  front  of 
his  palace  a  mountain  of  gold  arose.  The  Nats  brought 
a  virgin  from  the  island  of  Uttarakuru.  This  woman  was 
ten  cubits  in  stature.  She  brought  with  her  a  kunsa  of 
rice,  which,  though  one  were  to  cook  it  and  eat  it  during 
a  whole  lifetime,  would  never  be  exhausted.  An  elephant 
of  priceless  value,  which  could  travel  a  hundred  yoganas 
even  before  breakfast.  Seven  vessels  arrived  at  the 
port  completely  filled  with  valuable  putzos. 


THE  GROWTH  OF  BUDDHISM.  r -^  j 


BUDDHIST    COUNTRIES    OF    THE    PRESENT    DAY. 

Buddhism  in  India  has  almost  died  out.  In  Ceylon, 
and  among  the  sect  of  the  Jains,  in  Western  India,  it  still 
remains ;  but,  excepting  these  parts  of  the  country, 
Brahminism  has  triumphed  in  putting  down  Buddhism. 
In  F"arther  India,  that  is,  in  Burmah  and  Malacca,  Bud- 
dhism is  very  strong.  Among  the  Karens  of  Burrrjfah, 
Buddhism  never  gained  any  acceptance.  In  Siam,  Cam- 
bodia and  Cochin  China,  Buddhism  is  prevalent.  In 
China  proper  and  in  Corea  it  is  associated  with  Confu- 
cianism and  Taoism.  In  Thibet  it  has  taken  the  peculiar 
form  called  Lamaism,  a  regular  hierarchy  having  devel- 
oped. In  Japan  it  is  often  associated  with  Shintoism. 
The  Loo  Choo  Islands  are  also  Buddhist. 


532 


£/i:A'OA'S    CJ/.t/A'S. 


CHAPTER   XXIX. 

BUDDHISM    IN    INDIA    AND    CEYLON. 

They  sat  in  silent  watchfulness 

The  sacred  cypress-tree  about, 
And,  from  beneath  old  wrinkled  brows, 

Their  failing  eyefi  looked  out. 

They  waited  for  that  falling  leaf 

Of  which  the  wandering  Jogees  sing  : 

Which  lends  once  more  to  wintry  age 
The  greenness  of  its  spring. 

John  Greenleaf  Whittier. 

IN  the  time  of  Asoka,  Buddhism  had  almost  become 
the  State  reHgion  of  India.  The  conversion  of  the 
king,  however,  proved  the  beginning  of  its  decHne. 
It  continued  to  exist  until  the  eighth  or  ninth  century 
after  Christ.  To-day  there  is  scarcely  a  trace  of  the  re- 
ligion among  all  the  people  of  India  proper.  The  only 
body  of  people  in  India  that  has  any  connection  with 
Buddhism  is  the  singular  sect  of  the  Jains.  The  views  of 
this  body  are  half  Buddhist  and  half  Brahmin.  They  are 
found  especially  on  the  Western  coast  of  India,  in  and 
around  the  city  of  Bombay.  They  are  divided  into  two 
classes,  the  Soetambaras,  or  "clothed  in  white  garments," 
and  the  Digambaras,  or  "sky-clad,"  that  is  naked.  The 
last  class  now  wear  colored  garments,  though  formerly 
they  went  naked.  Like  the  Buddhists  they  reject  the 
Vedas  or  sacred  books  of  the  Brahmins.  The  principal 
point  of  their  practice  is  tlie  reverence  paid  to  holy  men. 


BUDDHISM  IN  INDIA  AND  CEYLON.  ror 

who,  by  long  discipline,  have  raised  themselves  to  divine 
perfection.  These  men  are  called  Jinas  or  "conquering 
saints,"  whence  comes  the  name  of  their  followers,  the 
Jains.  They  believe  in  two  ever-returning  cycles  of 
time,  of  immense  duration,  which  defy  all  human  calcula- 
tion. The  first  Jina  of  the  second  cycle,  in  which  we  now 
live,  attained  the  age  of  8,400,000  years,  and  each  Jina 
since  has  lived  a  shorter  and  shorter  time.  There  are 
three  ways,  they  say,  by  which  the  soul  is  delivered,  viz.: 
right  intuition,  right  knowledge  and  right  conduct.  This 
last  consists  in  observing  five  duties,  or  vows  of  self- 
restraint.  I.  Do  not  kill  or  injure.  (Strict  Jains  carry 
this  to  a  ridiculous  extent.  They  strain  water  before 
drinking  it,  sweep  the  ground  with  a  brush  before  treading 
it,  never  eat  or  drink  in  the  dark,  and  sometimes  wear  a 
muslin  strip  over  their  mouths  to  prevent  the  risk  of 
swallowing  minute  insects.  They  will  never  eat  figs  or 
any  fruit  containing  seeds,  nor  even  touch  flesh-meat 
with  their  finger-tips).  2.  Do  not  tell  lies.  3.  Do  not 
steal.  4.  Be  chaste  and  temperate  in  thought,  word  or 
deed.     5.   Do  not  desire  anything  immoderately. 

In  Bombay  there  is  a  hospital  temple  of  the  Jains  where 
sick  animals  are  received  and  cared  for.  In  this  temple 
one  may  see  oxen,  some  with  bandages  over  their  eyes, 
and  some  lame  lying  upon  beds  of  clean  straw  ;  others, 
blind  and  paralyzed,  are  having  their  food  brought  to 
them  and  are  being  rubbed  down  by  pious  devotees. 
Here  are  gathered  sick  or  wounded  dogs,  cats,  fowls  of 
every  sort,  crows,  buzzards,  vultures,  rats,  mice,  sparrows, 
peacocks,  jackals,  etc.,  and  are  tenderly  cared  for. 

THE    FAMOUS   TOPES. 

A  Tope  is  a  structure  built  to  contain  some  relic  of 
Buddha.     They  were  generally  erected  by  a  king,  who 


336  EKA-OR-S   CHAINS. 

used  the  tbllowino-  form  of  words  in  its  dedication: 
"Thrice  over  do  I  dedicate  my  kingdom  to  the  redeemer 
of  the  world,  the  divine  teacher,  the  bearer  of  the  triple 
canopy,  the  canopy  of  the  heavenly  host,  the  canopy  of 
mortals,  and  the  canopy  of  eternal  emancipation."  The 
whole  structure  was  dome-shaped,  or,  more  exactly, 
canopy-shaped.  The  relic  of  Buddha — a  tooth,  a  piece 
of  bone,  or  the  like — was  placed  in  a  gold  casket.  This 
was  placed  in  the  relic-chamber  on- a  golden  altar.  Then 
the  erection  of  the  building  proceeded  amidst  great  re- 
joicings and  with  many  ceremonies.  At  its  compledon 
the  king  guided  a  golden  plow,  drawn  by  two'  ele- 
phants, and  marked  out  thus  with  a  furrow  a  line  all 
around  the  Tope.  All  within  this  line  was  considered 
sacred  ground.  The  most  famous  Topes  are  those  at 
Sanchi.  These  are  now  in  ruins.  The  Topes  them- 
selves are  all  grass-grown  and  crumbling,  and  almost  all 
of  the  magnificent  gate-ways  lie  in  ruins.  As  we  have 
just  said,  the  purpose  of  these  Topes  was — not  for  use  as 
a  temple  or  as  a  place  of  living  for  the  Buddhist  monks — 
but  simply  as  a  place  in  which  to  preserve  relics  of  the 
dead  Buddha.     As  Byron,  in  Childe  Harold,  has  sung: 

"There  is  a  stern  round  tower  of  other  days, 
Firm  as  a  fortress  with  its  fence  of  stone ; 
Such  as  an  army's  baffled  strength  delays, 
Standing  with  half  its  battlements  alone, 
And  with  two  thousand  years'  of  ivy  grown, 
The  garland  of  eternity — where  wave 

The  green  leaves,  over  all  by  Time  o'erthrown. 
What  was  this  tower  of  strength  ?     Within  its  case 
What  treasure  lays  so  locked,  so  hid?     A  hermii' s grave.** 

THE    GREAT   SANCHI    TOPE. 

This  is  a  dome-like  structure  of  solid  brick  and  stone, 
one  hundred  and  six  feet  in  diameter  at  the  base,  and 


!i:|ll!!!ilii!l;::i!':lll|| 


BUDDHISM  IN  INDIA  AND  CEYLON. 


539 


forty- two  feet  high  from  the  base;  the  base  is  fourteen 
feet  higli,  giving  a  total  height  of  fifty-six  feet.  The  base 
is  a  terrace,  extending  all  around 
the  Tope.  On  this  the  worshipers 
walked.  A  colonnade  extended 
all  around  the  Tope.  There  is  an 
extrance  to  the  Tope  at  each  of  the 
four  cardinal  points.  These  four 
^ate-ways  are  very  picturesque  ob- 
jects. They  are  covered  with 
sculptures  representing  various  do- 
mestic scenes  and  religious  cere- 
monies. Each  gate-way  is  formed 
•of  two  square  pillars,  two  feet 
three  inches  thick  and  thirteen  feet 
^ight  inches  high.  The  capitals  of 
these  pillars  vary.  Those  of  the 
•western  gate  contain  four  human 
dwarfs  ;  of  the  southern  gate,  four 
lions  ;  and  of  the  other  gate-ways 
four  elephants.  The  height  of 
these  capitals  is  four  feet  six 
inches.  The  carvings  on  these 
gate-ways  represent  sieges,  tri- 
umphal processions,  worshiping 
Topes,  or  the  sacred  Bo-tree,  pro- 
cessions escorting  relic-caskets, and 
certain  domestic  scenes.  These 
carvings  are  not  surpassed,  in  the 
beauty  of  their  design  and  execu- 
tion, by  those  of  any  other  tem- 
ples in  the  world. 

Exactly  in  the  centre  of  the  second  Sanchi  Tope,  there 
was  a  small  chamber.     This  was  opened  by  Major  Alex- 


CAPITAL  OF  A  PILLAR  OF 
GATE-WAY  OF  SANCHI  TOPE. 


540 


FKNOR'S    CHAINS. 


ander  Cunningham,  an  Englishman,  In  1851.  He  found 
in  this  chamber  a  rehc-box,  of  white  sand-stone,  nearly  one 
foot  square.     On  it  was  inscribed  : 

''Teacher  o.  all  branches  of  Vinaya,  the  Arhat*  Kasyapa, 
Gotra,  Upadiyajf  and  the  Arhat* 
Vachhi  Suvijayata,  teacher  of  Vinaya." 

Inside  the  stone  box  were  found  four  small  caskets  of 
mottled  steatite.  Each  one  of  these  contained  small 
pieces  of  burnt  bone,  and  on  each  casket  was  written  the 
name  of  the  holy  man  whose  ashes  were  enshrined 
therein.  As  these  holy  men,  whose  names  are  giver 
are  known  to  have  lived  in  Asoka's  time,  it  is  almost 
certain  that  these  Topes,  containing  their  relics,  were 
built  not  long  after  their  death,  or  not  later  than,  say, 
220  B.  C.  There  are  other  Topes  at  Sonari  and  Sadt- 
hara,  at  Bhojpur  and  Andher.  These  were  all  used  as 
relic  structures,  like  the  pagodas  of  Burmah. 

CEYLONESE    BUDDHISM. 

King  Asoka  was  not  content  with  spreading  Buddhism 
in  his  own  territory.  He  built  hospitals  for  man  and 
beast,  dug  wells  and  planted  trees  by  the  roadsides,  and 
performed  many  other  good  works  in  other  lands.  These 
lands  are  described  in  the  old  Buddhist  chronicles  of 
Ceylon  as  being  Southern  India  and  Ceylon,  and  "to  the 
land  of  the  Greek  king,  Antiochus."  He  is  said  to  have 
sent  embassies  to  four  Greek  kings,  and  to  have  "won 
from  them  a  victory,  not  by  the  sword,  but  by  religion." 

The  most  important  of  all  Asoka's  missionary  enter- 
prises was  that  which  he  sent  to  Ceylon.  "  Tissa,  the  de- 
light of  the  gods,"  was  at  this  time  king  of  Ceylon.  To 
him,  Asoka's  own  son,  Mahinda,  was  sent  as  a  Buddhist 

*  Monk.  •)■  Abbot. 


BUDDHISM  IN  INDIA  AND  CEYLON.  ^^^ 

missionary.  Mahinda  had  been  for  twelve  years  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Sangha,  or  order  of  mendicants.  One  year 
after  the  ereat  council  of  the  thousand  monks,  he  started 


ROADWAY  TO  A  BUDDHIST  TEMPLE  IN  CEYLOM. 

for  Ceylon.  He  took  with  him  a  band  of  monks  and 
copies  of  the  Tripitakas,  the  Buddhist  Bible,  which  had 
just  been  adopted  by  the  Patna  council.  He  took  also 
copies  of  the  commentaries  upon  these. 


546 


£A'/?OA"S   CHAINS. 


Tissa  received  Mahinda  widi  great  favor,  and  soon 
became  a  zealous  worker  in  die  new  religion.  At  Ma- 
hinda's  suggestion,  Tissa  built  the  Thuparama  Dagaba 
in  the  city  of  Anuradha-pura.  This  relic-house  was  said 
to  have  contained  the  right  collar-bone  of  Gautama  Bud- 
dha. Near  the  Dagaba  the  king  built  a  beaudful  monas- 
tery. On  this  hill  the  missionary  Mahinda  spent  most  of 
his  after  life.  He  had  his  study  cut  out  of  the  solid  rock, 
and  steps  cut  in  the  rock.  Before  his  view  spread  out 
the  great  plains  and  beautiful  forests  of  Ceylon.  Within 
the  cave  there  still  exists  the  stone  couch  on  which  he 
rested.  In  this  lonely,  cool  and  quiet  rock-chamber,  the 
great  teacher  of  Ceylon  sat,  thought,  wrote,  more  than 
2,000  years  ago.  Mahinda's  sister  came  over  shortly 
after  her  brother,  to  instruct  some  of  the  king's  female 
relations,  who  wished  to  become  nuns.  She  brought 
with  her  a  branch  of  the  sacred  Bo-tree,  the  tree  under 
which  Gautama  Buddha  had  fought  and  won  the  battle 
of  his  life,  and  where  he  gained  the  Buddha-hood. 

THE    SACRED    BO-TREE    OF    CEYLON. 

This  branch  was  planted  near  the  Dagaba,  and,  as  it 
has  always  been  tended  with  great  care,  it  still  grows 
there.  This  is  the  tree  upon  which  Whittier  has  founded 
his  poem,  "The  Cypress-tree  of  Ceylon;"  of  which  Ibn 
Batuta,  the  celebrated  Mussulman  traveler  of  the  four- 
teenth century,  has  spoken.  "  It  was,"  says  Ibn  Batuta, 
"  held  sacred  by  the  natives,  and  its  leaves  were  said  to 
have  fallen  only  at  certain  intervals ;  he  who  had  the 
happiness  to  find  and  eat  one  of  them  was  restored,  at 
once,  to  youth  and  vigor."  Sir  Emerson  Tennent,  ^vho 
wrote  about  i860,  says  of  it: 

"The  Bo-tree  of  Anuradha-pura  is,  in  all  probability, 
the  oldest  histor-ical  tree  in  tin  world.     It  was  planted  288 


BUDDHISM  IN  INDIA  AND  CEYLON. 


547 


years  before  Christ,  and  hence  is  now  2,147  years  old. 
Ages  varying  from  one  to  four  thousand  years  have  been 
assigned  to  the  Baobabs  oi  Senegal,  the  Eucalyptus  of  Tas- 
mania, the  Dragon-tree  of  Orotava,  the  Sequoia  of  Cali- 
fornia, and  the  chestnut  of  Mount  Etna.  But  all  these 
estimated  are  matters  of  conjecture,  and  such  calculations, 
however  ingenious,  must  be  purely  inferential.  Whereas 
the  age  of  the  Bo-tree  is  matter  of  record,  its  conservancy 
has  been  an  object  of  solicitude  to  successive  dynasties, 
and  the  story  of  its  vicissitudes  has  been  preserved  in  a 
series  of  continuous  chronicles,  among  the  most  authentic 
that  have  been  handed  down  to  mankind.  Compared 
with  it,  the  Oak  of  Ellerslie  is  but  a  sapling,  and  the 
Conqueror's  Oak  in  Windsor  Forest  barely  numbers  half 
its  years.  The  yew  trees  of  Fountain's  Abbey  are  be- 
lieved to  have  flourished  there  1,200 years  ago;  the  olives 
in  the  Garden  of  Gethsemane  were  full  grown  when  the 
Saracens  were  expelled  from  Jerusalem  ;  and  the  Cypress 
of  Senna,  in  Lombardy,  is  said  to  have  been  a  tree  in  the 
time  of  Julius  Ccesar ;  yet  the  Bo-tree  is  older  than  the 
oldest  of  these  by  a  century,  and  would  almost  seem  to 
verify  the  prophecy  pronounced  when  it  was  planted, 
that  it  would  flourish  and  be  green  forever." 

To  which  Rhys-David  adds  : 

"  The  tree  could  scarcely  have  lived  so  long  had  it  not 
been  for  the  constant  care  of  the  monks.  As  it  showed 
signs  of  decay  terraces  were  built  up  around  it,  so  that 
it  now  grows  more  than  twenty  feet  above  the  surround- 
ing soil ;  for  the  tree  being  of  the  fig  species — its  bo- 
tanical name  is  ficus  7'eligiosa — its  living  branches  could 
then  throw  out  fresh  roots.  Where  its  long  arms  spread 
beyond  the  inclosure,  rude  pillars  of  iron  or  masonry 
have  been  used  to  prop  them  up;  and  it  is  carefully 
watered  in  seasons  of  drought.     The  whole  aspect  of  the 


548 


EHJiOJi'S  CHAINS. 


tree  and  its  inclosure  bear  evident  signs  of  extreme 
age ;  but  we  could  not  be  sure  of  its  identity  were  it  not 
for  the  complete  chain  of  documentary  evidence  which  has 
been  so  well  brought  together  by  Sir  Emerson  Tennent." 

REDUCING    THE    TRIPITAKA    TO    WRITING.   ^ 

In  the  year  88  B.  C.  (Buddhism  had  long  before  this 
become  the  religion  of  the  whole  of  this  great  island), 
the  king  built  the  largest  Dagaba  in  Ceylon,  250  feet  in 
height.  It  was  at  this  time  that  the  whole  of  the  Three 
Pitakas  were  reduced  to  writing.  This  was  330  years 
after  Gautama's  death.     The  Ceylonese  history  says : 

"  The  wise  monks  of  forrner  days  handed  down  by  word  of  mouth 
The  text  of  the  Three  Pitakas,  and  the  Commentary  upon  them : 
Seeing  the  destruction  of  men,  the  monks  of  this  time  assembled, 
And,  that  the  Faith  might  last  long,  they  wrote  them  in  books." 

This  has  more  significance  than  is  at  first  apparent  to 
a  European  accustomed  to  believe  that  books  can  only 
be  preserved  by  writing.  The  Hindus  believe  just  the 
opposite.  Even  at  the  present  time,  if  all  copies  of  the 
Vedas  were  destroyed,  the  Vedas  would  still  be  pre- 
served in  the  memory  of  the  priests,  as  they  have  been 
for  certainly  more  than  3,000  years  ;  and  those  priests 
look  upon  the  Veda,  thus  authenticated,  as  the  test  to 
which  all  printed  or  written  copies  must  give  way.  If 
you  depend  upon  written  copies,  they  would  argue,  you 
are  sure  to  make  and  to  perpetuate  mistakes ;  but  the 
text,  as  handed  down  by  word  of  mouth,  is  preser\^ed, 
not  only  by  being  itself  constantly  repeated,  but  by  the 
assistance  of  the  commentaries,  in  which  every  word  of 
the  text  is  carefully  enshrined.  So  long  as  reliance  can 
be  placed  on  the  succession  of  teachers  and  pupils,  this 
argument  may  not  be  so  far  from  wrong;  but  when  a 
text  has  to  be  preserved  in  a  small  country,  liable  to  be 


BUDDHISM  JN  INDIA  AND  CEYLON. 


549 


overrun  by  persecuting  enemies,  the  condition  of  things 
is  changed,  and  it  becomes  necessary  to  preserve  it  also 
in  writing.  Mahinda  could  have  written  the  texts,  had 
he  so  chosen.     We  know  that  the  square  alphabet  which 


r  3 


—  E.  - 

owe?' 

ill 


3    =r 


S   S   o  !« 

::;'*•  O 

ft     3     3 

=:  I   1-  (^ 

•O    «'    3  3 

M        -J        CL  *< 

n'  S  ■  r' 

"  5'  ^  C 


g    3    <j 


Asoka  used  was  at  least  known  in  Ceylon,  if  it  did  not 
originate  there.  That  he  did  not  choose  to  do  so,  ought 
to  throw  no  doubt  upon  the  identity  of  the  existing  ver- 
sion of  the  text  with  that  which  he  brought  to  Ceylon. 


550 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


BUDDHAGHOSHA    IN    CEYLON. 


Buddhaghosha,  the  famous  monk,  was  born  near  the 
Bo-tree.  He  came  to  Ceylon  in  430  A.  D.  He  wrote 
a  cyclopaedia  of  Buddhist  doctrine,  and  was  readily  ac- 
cepted as  a  teacher  by  the  Sangha  of  Ceylon.  He  wrote 
out  the  Buddhist  commentaries  in  the  Pali  language,  and 
those  that  had  been  made  in  the  Ceylonese  language, 
about  600  years  before  were  completely  lost  through 
disuse.  From  Ceylon  he  went  to  Burmah  in  450  A.  D. 
He  left  an  indelible  impression  on  the  Buddhism  of 
Ceylon,  and  through  it  on  the  Buddhism  of  the  whole  of 
Southern  Asia.  Of  the  writings  of  this  distinguished 
teacher  w^e  have  before  spoken. 

A    BUDDHIST   TEMPLE    IN    CEYLON. 

The  Buddhist  temples  stand  in  the  most  beautiful 
situations.  Waving  cocoa-nut  palms,  broad-leaved  bread- 
fruit trees,  flowering  shrubs,  with  sweet-scented  blossoms, 
surround  the  temple  court,  and  astonish  the  visitor  by 
their  loveliness.  But  enter  the  court  and  what  a  con- 
trast !  What  do  we  see  ?  A  long  narrow  room,  with 
no  light  but  what  struggles  in  through  the  door,  or  some-* 
times  arises  from  a  few  dim  oil-lamps ;  a  shelf  running 
from  end  to  end  of  it ;  a  huge  image  of  painted  clay, 
more  than  forty  feet  long,  lying  stretched  upon  the  shelf, 
with  fixed  staring  eyes,  as  if  quite  unconcerned  with  all 
things  round  about;  and  a  heavy,  oppressive  smell  of 
smoking  lamps  and  dead  flowers,  that  have  been  offered 
to  the  image,  reminding  one  strongly  of  the  spiritual 
death  and  darkness  of  the  blind  worshipers.  Such  are  the 
,  places  of  worship  of  the  one  and  a  half  millions  of  Budd- 
hists in  Ceylon.  Surrounded  by  the  most  luxuriant  beau- 
ties of  the  natural  world,  religiously  they  are  in  darkness. 


BUDDHISM  IN  INDIA  AND  CEYLON. 


55' 


WORSHIP    OF    BUDDHA's    TOOTH. 

There   is  a   festival  which  takes  place  every  year  in 
Kandy,  the  chief  city  of  the  central   province  of  Ceylon. 


BUDDHIST  TEMPLE  IN  THE  ISLAND  OF  CEYLON. 


r-2  ERROR'S   CHAINS. 

and  the  ancient  residence  of  its  native  kings.  In  a  Bud- 
dhist temple  at  Kandy  there  is  a  large  tooth,  which  from 
its  shape  and  appearance,  seems  to  be  the  tooth  of  a 
baboon,  but  which  is  called  Buddha's  tooth,  and  is  be- 
lieved to  have  been  such  by  a  large  number  of  the  people 
of  Ceylon.  This  is  exhibited  with  great  pomp  and  a 
gorgeous  procession  once  a  year  before  vast  crowds,  who 
come  to  worship  it.  Religious  embassies  come  from 
Siam,  and  even  from  Thibet  to  be  present  at  this  great 
festival  of  Buddhism. 

THE    SACRED    CEYLONESE    BOOKS. 

There  are  three  books  regarded  as  sacred  by  the  Bud- 
dhists of  Ceylon.  The  first,  called  the  Mahavanso,  is  the 
most  highly  venerated.  It  has  been  very  carefully  handed 
down  and  the  ancient  and  modern  copies  vary  but  a  very 
little.  It  contains  "The  Doctrine,  Race  and  Lineage  of 
Buddha,"  and  the  authentic  annals  of  Ceylonese  Bud- 
dhism. The  second,  called  the  Rajaratnacari,  was  written 
by  a  priest.  It  contains  a  history  of  Buddha,  extracts 
from  the  most  ancient  books,  records  of  the  erection  of 
temples,  and  the  history  of  the  kings  from  540  B.  C. 
down  to  modern  times.  The  third,  called  the  Rajavali,  is 
the  work  of  different  hands,  and  completes  the  other  books. 
It  narrates  the  history  of  Ceylon  from  the  coming  of  the 
Dutch  to  Ceylon  down  to  the  time  when  they  expelled 
the  Portuguese  and  gained  possession  of  Colombo, 


34 


BUDDHISM  IN  BURMAH. 


555 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

BUDDHISM    IN    BURMAH. 

On  the  pagoda  spire, 

The  bells  are  swinging, 
Their  little  golden  circlet  in  a  flutter, 
With  tales  the  wooing  winds  have  dared  to  utter, 

Till  all  are  ringing. 
As  if  a  choir 

Of  golden-nested  birds  in  heaven  were  singing  ; 
And  with  a  lulling  sound, 
The  music  floats  around. 

And  drops  like  balm  into  the  drowsy  ear. 

Mrs.   Emily  C.  Judson. 

THE  early  religion  of  the  Burmese  was  Shamanism; 
the  belief  in  evil  spirits  and  the  necessity  of  ward- 
ing off  their  hurtful  influence  by  the  use  of  charms 
and  amulets.  Buddhism  has  taken  the  place  of  this  de- 
grading system  among  the  Burmese.  Besides  the  Bur- 
mese there  are  other  peoples  in  Burmah ;  the  Karens,  of 
whose  religion  we  have  already  spoken,  the  Shans,  who 
are  Buddhists,  and  the  Mons  who  adhere  still  to  the  old 
practice  of  Shamanism,  The  old  evil-spirit  worship  of 
the  Burmese  and  Shans  still  remains  to  some  extent  in 
the  Nat  worship.  Just  when  Buddhism  was  introduced 
into  Burmah  is  a  little  uncertain.  Dr.  Francis  Mason, 
an  American  missionary,  in  his  work  on  Burmah  speaks 
as  follows,  and  as  the  whole  extract  is  an  excellent  account 
of  the  introduction  of  Buddhism  and  a  summary  of  its 
doctrines,  we  present  it  entire : 

"Three  hundred  years  before  Alexandria  was  founded; 


5.0 


AVy'A'OA^S   CHAINS. 


about  the  time  that  Thales,  tlie  most  ancient  philosopher 
of  Europe,  was  teaching-  in  Greece  that  water  is  the 
orioin  of  all  thino^s,  the  soul  of  the  world ;  and  Zoroaster, 
in  Media  or  Persia,  was  systematizing  the  fire-worship  of 
the  Ma^^i ;  and  Confucius  in  China  was  callino-  on  the 
teemincr  multitudes  around  him  to  offer  to  ofuardian 
spirits  and  the  Manes  of  their  ancestors  ;  and  Nebuchad- 
nezzar set  up  his  golden  image  in  the  plain  of  Dura,  and 
Daniel  was  laboring  in  Babylon  to  establish  the  worship 
of  the  true  God ;  a  reverend  sage,  with  his  staff  and 
scrip,  who  had  left  a  throne  for  philosophy,  was  traveling 
from  Gaya  to  Benares,  and  from  Benares  to  Kanouj,  ex- 
horting the  people  against  theft,  falsehood,  adultery,  killing 
and  intemperance.  No  temperance  lecturer  advocates 
teetotalism  now  more  strongly  than  did  this  sage  Gau- 
tama twenty-three  centuries  age.  Nor  did  he  confine 
his  instructions  to  external  vices.  Pride,  anger,  lust,  envy 
and  covetousness  were  condemned  by  him  in  as  strong 
terms  as  are  ever  heard  from  the  Christian  pulpit.  Love, 
mercy,  patience,  self-denial,  alms-giving,  truth  and  the 
cultivation  of  v/isdom  he  required  of  all.  Good  actions, 
good  words  and  good  thoughts  were  the  frequent  sub- 
jects of  his  sermons,  and  he  was  unceasing  in  his  cau- 
tions to  keep  the  mind  free  from  the  turmoils  of  passion 
and  the  cares  of  life.  Immediately  after  the  death  of  this 
venerable  peripatetic,  his  disciples  scattered  themselves 
abroad  to  propagate  the  doctrines  of  their  master,  and 
tradition  says  one  party  entered  the  principal  mouth  of 
the  Irrawaddy,  where  they  traced  its  banks  to  where  the 
first  rocks  lift  tliemselves  abruptly  above  the  fiats  around. 
Here  on  the  summit  of  this  laterite  ledge,  i6o  feet  above 
the  river,  they  erected  the  standard  of  Buddhism,  which 
now  lifts  its  spire  to  the  heavens  higher  than  the  dome 
of  St.  Paul's." 


B  UDDHJSM  IN  B  URMA-H.  _  -  ^ 

But  there  is  an  entire  absence  of  any  historical  confir- 
mation of  these  traditions,  and  we  have  no  definite  infor- 
mation of  the  cominor  of  Buddhism  to  Burmah  until 
Buddhaghosha  brought  it  about  450  A,  D. 

Burmese  Buddhism  bears  a  very  close  resemblance  to 
that  of  Ceylon.  As  we  have  already  discussed  the  prin- 
ciples of  Buddhism  in  general,  we  shall  pass  to  notice 
more  pardcularly  the  temples,  idols,  festivals  and  worship 
of  Burmah.  A  good  idea  of  Burmese  Buddhism  can  be 
obtained  from  a  visit  to  its  Grand  Shway-da-Gong  Pagoda. 

THE    SHWAY-DA-GONG    PAGODA. 

The  Mecca  of  Southern  Buddhism  is  the  great  pagoda, 
at  Rangoon.  This  the  largest  building  of  the  kind  in 
Burmah,  and,  perhaps,  also  in  the  world.  It  is  situated 
about  a  mile  from  the  city,  on  a  rocky  ledge,  perhaps  100 
feet  high,  overlooking  the  valley  of  the  Irrawaddy  and 
the  city  of  Rangoon.  The  entrance  is  guarded  by  two 
huge  griffins  of  brick  and  mortar.  Passing  on  between 
rows  of  long,  narrow  sheds,  beautifully  carved  and  gaudily 
painted,  and  after  climbing  a  staircase,  one  stands  upon 
an  immense  stone  terrace,  upon  which  the  pagoda  itself 
stands.  The  terrace  is  nearl)-  1,000  feet  square.  The 
pagoda  tapers  upwards  to  a  height  of  300  feet,  and  ter- 
minates in  a  h'tee.  The  pagoda  is  round  in  shape,  and 
solid  throughout.  It  is  built  of  bricks,  and,  unlike  the 
Pyramids  of  P^gypt,  there  is  no  chamber  In  its  interior, 
nothing  but  the  casket  containing  the  staff  of  Kantha- 
thon,  the  water-dipper  of  Gaunagon,  a  garment  of  Kat- 
hapa  and  the  eight  hairs  of  Gautama.  The  whole  of  the 
exterior  Is  covered  with  gold-leaf,  presenting  a  dazzling 
appearance,  as  it  reflects  the  rays  of  the  sun.  The  h'tee 
on  the  top  —  the  umbrella-shaped  finial  —  is  made  of  a 
series  of  gilded  iron  rings,  from  which  hang  a  great  many 


55§ 


ERR  OR' S   CIIA  INS. 


little  silver  and  brass  bells,  which  are  swung  and  rung  by 
the  wind.  Not  long  ago,  the  father  of  the  present  King 
of  Burmah  placed  a  new  h'tee  upon  the  pagoda.     It  cost 


SHWAY-DA-GONG,  THK  GREAT  PAGODA  OF  RANGOON,  BURMAH.     IT  CONTAINS 

RELICS  OF  BUDDHA.     THE  EXTERIOR  IS  COVERED  WITH  GILT. 

THE  ENTRANCES  ARE  GUARDED  BY  GRIFFINS. 

him  about  ^300,000.  The  frame  was  made  of  seven 
gilded  iron  rings,  the  largest  of  which  was  twelve  feet  in 
diaineter,  and  the  rest  smaller  and  smaller.     Each  ring 


B  UDDHISM  IN  £  URMAH.  r  tr  q 

was  Studded  with  gems.  At  the  very  top  was  a  large 
emerald.  This  h'tee  was  brought  to  a  landing-place 
about  two  miles  from  the  pagodas.  The  road  over  which 
it  was  to  come  was  covered  with  white  cloth  by  a  devout 
'  merchant.  The  pagoda  was  covered  with  a  framework 
of  bamboo,  which  made  it  easy  to  ascend  to  its  top. 
Weeks  of  religious  festivities  were  held,  during  which  the 
worshipers  poured  their  gold,  and  silver,  and  precious 
stones  into  the  pagoda's  treasury.  On  the  day  appointed, 
the  old  h'tee  was  removed,  and  the  new  one  hoisted  ring 
by  ring  to  its  place. 

Within  the  pagoda  inclosure  there  are  many  temples, 
most  containing  huge  images  of  Gautama,  made  of  wood, 
brick  and  lime,  or  marble  and  metal.  On  small  tables, 
in  front  of  many  of  the  images,  are  placed  candles,  flowers 
and  little  paper  flags.  Around  the  pagoda  tall  poles  are 
placed  at  short  intervals,  each  crowned  with  a  h'tee. 

Near  the  pagoda  is  a  great  bell,  under  which  a  man 
may  stand  upright.  The  worshipers  strike  upon  this  bell, 
to  attract  the  attention  of  the  recording  angels,  so  that 
they  may  not  omit  to  credit  them  with  the  worship  about 
to  be  performed  in  honor  of  the  gods. 

THE    STORY    OF    SHWAY-DA-GONG. 

Two  brothers,  said  in  the  native  books  to  have  been 
Mons  or  Takings,  having  made  an  offering  to  Gautama, 
beesfed  in  return  some  relic  of  himself,  on  which  he 
stroked  his  head,  and  sfave  them  eiofht  hairs  that  can>e 
out.  These  he  desired  them  to  deposit  in  a  pagoda  in  a 
spot  where  had  already  been  buried  certain  relics  of  his 
three  great  predecessors.  They  accordingly  started  with 
them  for  "  Suvarna-bhumi,"  the  Sanskrit  name  of  Pegu, 
but  on  the  way  lost  six  of  the  hairs.  However,  they  were 
recovered  in   a   miraculous    manner,  and  the   holy  site 


56o 


EKROK'S    CHAINS. 


pointed  out  to  them  by  the  Nats.  Here,  on  digging,  the 
relics  of  the  former  Buddhas — viz.,  a  water-scoop  of  Gau- 
nagon,  a  robe  of  Kathapa,  and  a  staff  of  Kanthathon, 
— were  found,  and  these,  together  with  the  eight  hairs  of 
Gautama,  were  deposited  in  a  hole  on  the  top  of  the  hill  on 
which  "Shway-da-Gong"  now  stands,  and  a  solid  pagoda 
of  stones,  sixty-six  feet  high  was  erected.  This  pagoda 
is  thus  specially  sacred  to  all  Buddhists,  as  the  only  one 
known  to  them  as  now  existing,  which  is  supposed  to 
contain  the  relics  not  only  of  Gautama,  but  also  of  all  the 
Buddhas  of  this  present  world.  At  the  time  of  its  erec- 
tion, and  for  centuries  afterwards,  no  town  existed  on  the 
site  of  Rangoon,  and  the  pagoda  stood,  like  many  others 
at  the  present  day,  in  the  midst  of  the  wild  forest.  The 
history  of  the  pagoda,  which  is  rather  ia  long  one,  con- 
tains detailed  pardculars  of  the  various  improvements, 
repairs  and  enlargements  made  to  it  by  various  kings. 
The  edifice  has  been  cased  several  times  (as  was  also  the 
custom  with  the  Ceylon  dagobas)  with  a  fresh  outer 
surrounding  of  bricks  several  feet  thick,  thus  each  time 
increasing  its  height  and  size.  Thus,  in  A.  D.  1447,  the 
King  of  Pegu  encased  it  afresh,  and  made  its  height  301  ^^^ 
feet.  In  1462.  the  King  of  Pegu  cast,  it  is  said,  a  colossal 
bell,  168  feet  high,  12  feet  in  diameter  and  36  feet  in  cir- 
cumference ;  also  several  other  smaller  bells,  and  paved 
the  platform  or  terrace  of  the  pagoda  with  50,000  flat 
stones.  This  wonderful  bell,  it  is  perhaps  unnecessary 
to  say,  is  not  in  existence  at  the  present  time. 

OTHER    PAGODAS. 

Besides  the  Shway-da-Gong  Pagoda,  there  is  a  host  of 
lesser  ones.  The  erection  of  pagodas  is  generally  a 
work  of  merit.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  these  are 
never    temples,    but    simply    relic-houses.      There    are 


SACRED  GARDENS  A 


DDHIST  TEMPLE. 


BUDDHISM  JN  BUR  MAN. 


565 


temples  and  monasteries  grouped  around  them.  At  one 
place  is  the  "Seven  Pagodas,"  built  on  the  spot  where 
Gautama — when,  in  the  course  of  his  transmigrations, 
his  soul  inhabited  the  body  of  a  rooster — is  said  to  have 
scratched  for  his  breakfast.  Again,  there  are  others 
built  where  Gautama  has  left  the  imprint  of  his  footsteps. 


PAGODA   AT    MAULMAIN,    BURMA.H     LITTLE   BELLS    SUSPENDED    FROM    ITS 
SUMMIT  SWING  IN  THE  WIND.    • 

There  are  a  great  many  traditions  told  in  regard  to 
the  building  of  these  pagodas.  One  legend  runs  thus : 
A  certain  hermit,  having  received  one  of  the  hairs  of  the 
Lord,  wandered  about  searching  for  a  suitable  spot 
where  to  enshrine  it.     In  the  meanwhile  he  reverently 


566 


£K RON'S   CHAINS. 


carried  the  sacred  relic  on  his  head.  After  some  time 
he  arrived  on  the  summit  of  this  mountain,  and  deposited 
the  holy  hair  in  the  cleft  of  the  rock,  and  erected  the 
pao-oda  on  the  great  boulder.  From  this  legend  is  de- 
rived the  name  "  Kyeik-ethel-yuh,"  meaning  "the  object 
of  worship  borne  on  the  head  of  the  hermit."  This 
boulder  is  more  than  half  hanging  over  the  perpendicular 
face  of  a  cliff.  How  it  holds  its  position  it  is  indeed  dif- 
ficult to  say,  as  it  lies  beyond  the  line  of  the  centre  of 
gravity.  The  boulder  is  thirty  feet  high,  and  the  pagoda 
fifteen  feet.     Another  legend  is  as  follows  : 

Two  merchants  joined  together  and  built  a  small  pa- 
goda, two  feet  high.  The  next  morning,  when  they  went 
to  pay  their  homage  at  this  shrine,  they  found  the  pagoda 
had  increased  to  double  their  work  ;  so,  taking  this  as  a 
sign  that  the  Nats  approved  of  their  offering,  they  con- 
tinued to  enlarge  this  pile  of  brick  ;  they  working  by  day 
and  the  unseen  power  by  night.  It  now  measures  more 
than  three  hundred  feet  high.  They  have  also  a  stone, 
which  they  call  an  impression  of  Gautama's  foot.  Some 
of  these  stones  are  six  feet  long,  and  covered  with 
strange  figures  supposed  to  express  their  religious  ideas. 

WORSHIP    OF    NATS. 

The  adoration  and  dread  of  Nats  enters  into  all  the 
life  and  legends  of  the  Burmese.  These  Nats  are  spirits, 
both  good  and  evil.  Offerings  are  presented  and  cere- 
monies performed  to  obtain  favors  and  advantages  from 
the  good,  and  to  propitiate  the  evil  Nats.  The  worship 
of  Nats  is  intimately  related  to  the  old  worship  of  spirits 
before  Buddhism  came  to  Burmah.  The  Nats  are  sup- 
posed to  live  In  the  six  lower  heavens,  beyond  the  moon. 
They  are  able  to  transport  themselves  with  the  utmost 
rapidity  to  and  about  our  world.     They  are  believed  to 


BUDDHJSM  IN  BURMAH. 


567 


interfere  In  the  affairs  of  man,  even  more  than  the  gods. 
They  correspond  to  the  genii  of  the  Arabian  Nights' 
Entertainment,  to  the  fairies  and  elfins  of  Britain  in  olden 
times,  with  perhaps  the  added  ideas  of  angels  and  devils. 
The  story  of  King  Tektha,  which  follows,  will  probably 
give  a  more  correct  impression  of  the  Burmese  notions 
of  the  Nats  than  any  description  could  impart.  This  is 
but  a  single  specimen  of  a  great  many  such  stories  which 
are  still  current  among  the  Burmese: 

A    NAT   STORY. 

Once  upon  a  time,  there  lived,  in  Burmah,  a  king 
named  Tektha. 

The  kings  that  were  before  him  had  been  devout  wor- 
shipers of  Gautama,  and  had  listened  to  what  their 
teachers  and  priests  taught  them.  But  Tektha  did  not 
believe  in  Gautama,  but  listened  to  strange  teachers,  who 
taught  him  that  everything  was  God.  He  would  not 
hear  the  Buddhist  books,  nor  worship  the  relics  nor  the 
images.  More  than  this,  instead  of  behaving  reverently 
to  the  priests,  he  destroyed  their  temples,  and  threw  the 
idols  into  the  water.  He  forbade  his  subjects  also  to 
worship  Gautama,  and  threatened  that  if  they  did  they 
should  be  severely  punished. 

The  people  were  in  dismay.  It  was  of  no  use  for  the 
priests  to  carry  round  their  rice-pots ;  no  one  dared  offer 
them  food ;  the  temples  and  pagodas  were  falling  into 
ruins,  and  the  images  of  Gautama  were  lying  in  the 
water,  spoilt  and  decaying. 

What  would  be  the  consequence  of  this  terrible  treat- 
ment of  their  god  ?  The  people  were  afraid  of  the  pun- 
ishment with  which  the  king  threatened  them  if  they  w^or- 
shiped  Gautama ;  they  feared  the  evils  which  the  great 
spirits,  the  Nats,  might  bring  upon  them  if  they  did  not. 


568 


£A'A'0/a\S   CHALVS. 


But  a  few  of  the  people  would  not  give  up  the  worship 
to  which  they  had  been  so  long-  accustomed  ;  and  among 
those  who  still  in  secret  held  to  the  old  faith  was  a  girl, 
twelve  years  of  age,  and  her  mother.  I  do  not  know  the 
girl's  name;  but,  said  she,  "The  king  has  thrown  the 
idols  into  the  water  because  he  is  afraid  of  them."  This 
was  considered  a  very  bold  speech. 

Affairs  condnued  in  this  state  for  four  years.  When 
the  girl  was  sixteen,  she  happened  one  day  to  be  bathing 
in  a  tank  with  a  number  of  her  companions,  and,  while 
amusing  herself  in  the  water,  she  saw  an  idol  lying  near. 
She  ordered  her  attendants  to  lift  it  out  and  carry  it  to  a 
zayat,  or  rest-house,  that  was  at  hand.  They  reminded 
her  that  she  would  certainly  be  put  to  death  for  meddling 
with  it;  but  she  was  very  determined,  and  declared  that 
she  would  worship  that  image  as  long  as  she  lived.  It 
was  accordingly  lifted  out  of  the  water,  washed  and  car- 
ried into  the  zayat. 

A  report  of  what  had  been  done  was  immediately  taken 
to  the  king,  and  you  can  imagine  how  enraged  he  was. 
He  ordered  his  servants  to  take  a  fierce  elephant,  and 
make  the  savage  animal  trample  this  bold  young  woman 
to  death,  thus  making  a  terrible  example  of  her  case. 

But  it  was  not  so  easy  to  do  this.  The  seven  principal 
Nats,  who  had  been  greatly  displeased  by  the  king's 
wickedness,  came  to  the  ciefense  of  the  girl.  These  seven 
were,  the  Nat  of  the  universe,  the  Nat  of  tlie  earth,  the 
Nat  of  the  trees,  the  Nat  of  the  air,  the  Nat  of  the  cities, 
the  Nat  of  the  villages  and  the  Nat  of  the  white  umbrella. 

The  elephant  was  brought,  but  he  did  not  touch  the 
girl ;  he  was  beaten  and  goaded,  but  it  was  of  no  avail ; 
he  would  not  lift  up  a  foot  against  her,  and  instead  of 
being  angry  only  grew  frightened,  and  tried  to  run  away 
from  her  without  harming  her  in  the  least. 


BUDDHISM  IN  BURMAIl. 


569 


When  the  king  heard  that  she  could  not  be  put  to 
death  this  way,  he  ordered  a  quantity  of  dry  straw  to  be 
collected,  the  girl  placed  in  the  midst  of  it,  and  so  be 
burnt  to  death.  The  straw  was  brought,  she  was  put  in 
the  middle,  but  no  number  of  torches,  no  quantity  of  fire 
would  make  it  burn.  The  Nats  were  there,  and  they 
would  not  allow  her  to  be  put  to  death. 

Then  the  king  sent  for  her  to  his  palace.  He  was 
surprised  as  well  as  angry  now,  and  was  wondering 
whether  he  might  not  possibly  have  been  wrong  in 
forsaking-  the  o-ods  of  his  forefathers.  "  If  the  imaee 
which  you  have  dared  to  take  from  the  water,"  said  he, 
"  will  come  through  the  air  into  my  presence,  and  I  see 
it,  your  life  shall  be  spared ;  but  if  not,  you  shall  be  cut 
into  seven  pieces." 

The  young  woman  asked  permission  to  return  for  a 
short  time  to  the  zayat.  Her  request  was  granted,  and 
there  she  went  and  prayed  very  earnestly  that  the  image 
might  be  carried  into  the  king's  presence.  And,  lo  !  not 
only  one,  but  eight  images,  and  the  young  woman  her- 
self with  her  attendants,  were  immediately  taken  up  by 
the  Nats,  conveyed  through  the  air,  and  put  down  before 
the  king  and  his  principal  queen,  his  commander-in-chief, 
his  officers,  and  a  multitude  of  people.  How  they  all 
shouted  and  wondered  ! 

''Now,"  said  the  girl,  turning  to  the  king,  "now  that 
the  image  of  my  god  and  teacher  has  flown  to  you,  wilt 
you  order  the  teachers  from  whom  you  have  learned  this 
false  religion  to  mount  up  also  and  fly  through  the  air?" 

The  king  ordered  them  to  do  so,  but,  of  course,  it  was 
in  vain  ;  they  could  not  fly.  He  was  now  convinced  that 
the  relio-ion  of  Gautama  was  the  true  religion  ;  he  com- 
pelled  the  false  teachers  to  leave  the  country;  the  temples, 
and  images,  and  pagodas  were  restored ;   this  wonderful 


ryo  ERROR'S   CIJAINS. 

youno-  woman  he  married,  and  made  one  of  his  principal 
queens;  and  King  Tekdia  was  for  the  remainder  of  his  hfe 
a  devoted  Buddhist. 

The  fishermen  make  a  small  shed,  termed  a  Natsin, 
near  their  fishery,  in  which  every  morning  offerings  of 
fruit,  leaves,  rice,  or  some  such  tribute  is  placed ;  if  this 
were  not  done,  they  say  the  Nat  would  destroy  the  fish. 
A  man  going  a  journey  through  a  forest,  comes  to  a 
large  and  conspicuous  tree ;  he  halts,  plucks  a  few  leaves 
near  or  perhaps  takes  a  little  boiled  rice  out  of  his  bag, 
and  places  them  as  an  offering  to  the  Nat  of  the  tree.  In 
a  boat-race  a  preliminary  row  over  the  course  is  always 
taken,  a  man  in  the  prow  holding  in  his  extended  arms  a 
tray  or  basin  containing  a  cocoa-nut,  bunch  of  plantains, 
betel  leaves,  etc.,  as  an  oblation  to  the  Nats  of  the  stream 
to  insure  their  causinof  no  accident  to  the  boat  in  the  race. 

SUPERSTITIONS    OF    THE    BURMESE. 

The  people  have  great  faith  in  omens.  To  meet  a 
funeral,  or  a  person  crying,  when  starting  on  a  journey, 
is  unlucky,  and  the  journey  should  be  postponed. 

A  snake  crossing  the  road  shows  that  the  journey  will 
be  lonof. 

To  meet  with  mushrooms  foretells  a  prosperous 
journey. 

Any  unusual  wald  animal  or  bird  entering  a  house  is  a 
sien  of  ereat  honor  for  the  owner. 

The  earth-heaps  thrown  up  by  the  white  ants,  if  under 
a  house,  will  bring  wealth  to  the  occupier. 

The  itching  of  the  palms  of  the  hand  is  a  sign  that 
some  money  will  soon  come  into  them. 

In  almost  every  bazaar,  and  at  all  large  gatherings  of 
people,  will  be  found  one  or  two  old  men  sitting  with  a 
slate   or  a  Burman  writing-board   before  them,  inviting 


B  UDDHISM  IN  B  URMAH.  r  n  i 

the  passers-by  to  have  their  horoscope  cast,  and  the  best 
educated  and  most  enho^htened  native  officials  will,  in 
any  difficul'ty  or  trouble,  send  for  one  of  these  diviners 
to  consult  the  fates.  One  or  two  lucky  hits  will,  of 
course,  raise  any  special  prophet's  reputation  through- 
out the  country,  and  give  him  abundant  business. 

THE  FUNERAL  OF  A  PONGYEE,  OR  MONK. 

As  soon  as  a  pongyee  has  expired,  the  body  is  rever- 
entl}^  washed  by  the  elders,  who  were  his  supporters. 
The  body  is  then  opened,  the  viscera  extracted,  and 
buried  anywhere  without  ceremony.  The  cavity  of  the 
abdonien  is  filled  with  hot  ashes  and  various  preservative 
substances.  Long  swathes  of  white  cotton-cloth  are 
wrapped  as  tightly  as  possible  round  the  corpse  from 
head  to  foot,  over  which  are  placed  the  yellow  robes  of 
the  order.  Another  coarser  wrapping  of  cotton-cloth  is 
tightly  wound  over  this,  and  then  thickly  covered  with 
black  varnish,  on  which  gold  leaf  is  applied,  so  that  the 
whole  is  gilt.  A  coffin  is  prepared  from  a  single  log, 
hollowed  out,  which  many  old  pongyees  keep  in  their 
monasteries  ready  for  their  demise.  The  body,  having 
been  placed  in  this,  is  left  for  some  weeks  to  dry  up,  for 
most  of  such  venerable  and  aofed  recluses  are  little  more 
than  a  frame-work  of  bones,  covered  with  a  withered 
skin.  The  cover  is  at  length  nailed  on;  the  coffin  is 
thickly  covered  with  a  resinous  varnish  and  gilt.  It  is 
temporarily  laid  in  state  in  the  monastery,  on  a  high  dais, 
ornamented  with  tinsel,  gilding  and  paper  lace,  sur- 
mounted by  a  white  umbrella,  or  canopy  of  muslin,  and 
is  constantly  visited  by  pilgrims  from  the  surrounding 
country,  who  make  their  obeisance  and  present  offerings 
of  flowers,  etc.,  to  it. 

As   soon  as    sufficient  funds   have   been  collected,  a 


c^yo  F.RROR"^    CHAINS. 

building,  called  Nibban  Kyeng  (diat  is,  Monastery  of  die 
Dead),  is  erected  for  the  reception  of  the  body.  With 
obscure  and  inferior  monks  this  is  only  made  of  bam- 
boos and  thatch;  but  with  a  distinguished  and  venerated 
monk  it  is  a  substandal  structure,  with  large,  handsome 
pillars  of  iron-wood  or  teak,  roofed  with  shingles.  This 
is  open  all  around,  or  is  only  surrounded  by  a  railing  to 
keep  out  animals.  In  the  centre,  within  a  high  sar- 
cophagus, richly  but  rudely  adorned  with  gilding,  glass, 
mosaic  work  and  painting,  is  enshrined  the  coffin,  to 
await,  perhaps,  for  four  years  the  final  funeral  rites. 

At  length,  the  time  of  waiting  has  passed;  the  prepara- 
tions are  complete  ;  a  fortunate  day  has  been  fixed  upon, 
and  for  weeks  previous,  the  town  where  the  ceremony  is 
to  take  place,  and  all  the  surrounding  country,  has  been 
astir  with  the  arrangements  for  and  expectation  of  the 
o-reat  event. 

The  coffin  is  placed  on  a  gigantic  car,  solidly  con- 
structed, and  with  four  heavy  solid  wooden  wheels,  sur- 
mounted with  a  canopy  similar  in  form  and  construction 
to  that  crowning  the  funeral  pyre.  This  lofty  turret  is 
drawn  along  by  hundreds  of  men,  and  placed  in  the  cen- 
tre of  the  plain.  The  next  day,  the  /ii7t  begins.  Two 
great  ropes  of  twisted  canes,  or  coirs,  are  fastened  to  the 
funeral  car  in  front  and  behind,  long  enough  for  a  hundred 
people  to  hold  on  to  each  and  to  pull  each  way.  The 
people  group  themselves  about  either  rope  as  they  be- 
long to  one  or  other  of  two  neighboring  villages.  Then 
comes  a  tug,  each  trying  to  pull  the  car  away  from  the 
other. 

On  the  night  before  the  last  day  of  the  festival,  the 
coffin  is  removed  from  the  car  and  placed  on  the  funeral 
pyre,  on  an  iron  grating,  under  which  is  a  quantity  of 
wood,  made  more  combustible  by  the  use  of  oil,  resin  and 


BUDDHISM  IN  BURMAH. 


573 


the  like,  mixed  with  fragrant  woods.  Early  on  the  day 
appointed  for  the  burning  of  the  pongyee's  body,  par- 
ties come  from  the  different  villages,  bringing  rude  rock- 
ets of  every  size.  Some  are  a  foot  long  and  an  inch  in 
calibre ;  others  are  monsters,  nine  and  twelve  feet  in 
length,  and  have  a  bore  of  six  to  nine  inches  diameter. 


FUNERAL  PROCESSION  OF  A  BUDDHIST  PRIEST. 

All  are  crammed  to  the  muzzles  with  gunpowder,  the 
tubes  being  hollowed  logs- of  wood  strongly  bound  with 
cane.  The  larger  ones  are  placed  on  rude  cars  with  four 
wheels,  while  the  smallest  are  hune  on  lone  cruidino-  lines 
of  cane,  or  rope,  fastened  at  one  end  to  a  strong  post, 
and  at  the  other  to  some  point  of  the  funeral  pyre.     The 

35 


574 


EHROH'S   CHAINS. 


object  is  to  strike  the  pyre  with  the  rocket,  and  fire  the 
combustibles  placed  inside.  Happy  will  be  the  village 
which  owns  the  fortunate  rocket,  and  great  their  pros- 
perity during  the  ensuing  year. 

All  being  ready,  men  of  each  village  are  allowed  to  go 
up  in  rotation  and  discharge  their  weapon.  The  smoke, 
the  flame,  the  roar  is  tremendous,  to  the  intense  delight 
of  the  shouting  crowd. 

One  at  length  strikes  as  it  seems  with  full  power:  a 
pause,  a  little  smoke,  then  a  little  flame  issues  from  one 
corner  of  the  pyre,  and  a  shout  from  thousands  of  throats, 
proclaims  the  auspicious  event.  The  crowd  rushes  for- 
ward, fire  is  carefully  applied  to  the  mass  of  combustibles 
under  and  around  the  coffin,  and  soon  the  whole  is  in  a 
blaze.  The  people  watch  round,  giving  a  cheer  as  each 
small  pinnacle  falls  in,  and  wait,  anxiously  looking  for  the 
lofty  canopy  itself  to  topple  over  into  the  flames.  This 
event  is  greeted  with  a  tremendous  shout,  and  then  all 
disperse  homewards,  happy  and  merry.  A  few  elders 
remain  to  watch  the  burning  pyre  till  all  is  consumed, 
and  the  next  day  the  monks  of  the  monastery  collect  the 
fragments  of  half-burnt  bones  and  the  ashes  of  the  de- 
ceased, and  reverently  inter  them  in  some  fitting  place, 
and,  perhaps,  a  small  pagoda  is  erected  over  them  as  a 
monument.     Such  is  Buddhism  in  Burmah. 

American  missionaries  have  won   many  of  the  Bur 
mese,  as  of  the  Karens  also,  from  these  ceremonies  to 
the  Christian  faith. 


BUDDHISM  IN  SIAM. 


575 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

SIAM. 

The  "Castle  of  Indra,"  call  they  the  hall, 
In  which  are  displayed  the  deities  all, 
The  golden  images,  chiseled  with  care, 
And  all  incrusted  with  jewels  so  rare. 

Full  thirty  thousand  their  numbers  are : 
Their  ugliness  passes  description  far ; 
A  compound  of  men  and  animals  dread, 
With  many  a  hand  and  many  a  head. 

Heinrich  Heine. 

SIAM  is  the  land  lying-  just  to  the  east  of  Burmah; 
on  account  of  the  extreme  reverence  paid  to  the 
white  elephant  it  is  often  called  the  Land  of  the 
White  Elephant.  It  has  a  population  of  6,300,000, 
who  are,  with  but  a  few  exceptions,  Buddhists.  Bud- 
dhism entered  this  country  in  638  A.  D.,  and  was  thus  the 
last  nation  to  yield  to  the  power  of  that  religion.  The  Siam- 
ese people  are  gentle,  cheerful,  timid,  careless  and  almost 
passionless.  They  are  disposed  to  idleness,  inconstancy 
and  inaction ;  they  are  liberal  almsgivers,  severe  in  en- 
forcing decorum  between  the  sexes.  They  are  fond  of 
sports,  and  spend  half  their  time  in  amusements.  They 
are  sharp  and  even  witty  in  conversation,  and  resemble 
the  Chinese  in  their  dexterity  in  imitation.  Of  theatrical 
-displays,  rope-dancing  and  the  like,  they  are  extremely 
fond. 

Of  the  wit  of  the  people,  the  best  evidence  is  to  be  found 
in  their  familiar  proverbs,  of  which  a  few  are  here  cited: 


576 


£/iA'OA"S   CHAINS. 


"  When  you  go  into  a  wood,  do  not  forget  your  wood' 
knife." 

"An  elephant  though  he  has  four  legs  may  slip;  and  a 
doctor  is  not  always  right." 

"Go  up  by  land  you  meet  a  tiger;  go  down  by  water 
you  meet  a  crocodile." 

"  If  a  dog  bite  you,  do  not  bite  him  again." 

As  in  most  Oriental  lands  there  is  the  orreatest  and  most 
painful  contrast  between  the  luxury  and  splendor  of  the 
king's  court  and  the  poverty  and  squalor  of  the  common 
people.  The  royal  palaces  are  filled  with  all  that  wealth 
and  power  can  procure.  The  peasants'  hovels  are  denied 
even  the  common  comforts  of  life ;  they  are  bare  and  com- 
fortless. They  contain  no  furniture,  but  only  a  few 
roughly  made  vessels  of  earthenware,  and  a  mat  or  two 
spread  upon  the  floor.  The  food  of  a  peasant  consists 
of  a  bowl  of  rice  with  a  morsel  of  fish.  At  a  Siamese 
State  dinner  there  are  usually  served  with  great  ceremony 
from  sixty  to  a  hundred  carefully  cooked  dishes. 

THE    CELEBRATED    WAT    CHANG    PAGODA. 

This  is  the  most  splendid  temple  in  Bangkok.  It  is 
shaped  somewhat  like  a  bell,  rising  to  the  height  probably 
of  250  feet.  Every  inch  of  its  surface  glitters  with  curi- 
ous ornaments  and  carvings  ;  the  forms  of  men  and  birds, 
and  beasts  like  nothing  in  heaven  above,  nor  earth  be- 
neath, nor  waters  under  the  earth.  It  is  made  of  brick 
and  plastered  on  the  outside.  In  a  large  niche  in  the 
sides,  about  two-thirds  of  the  way  to  the  top  are  images 
of  Buddha,  riding  on  four  white  elephants  made  of  shin- 
ing porcelain  each  facing  toward  one  of  the  points  of 
the  compass.  A  sharp  spire  rises  from  the  summit. 
All  over  this  temple  tower,  from  the  base  to  the 
top,   from  ev&ry  projecting   point  hang  a  multitude   of 


BUDDHISM  IX  SI  AM. 


':)17 


TOWER  OF  WAT  CHANG  PAGODA  AT  BANGKOK,  SIAM. 


578 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


FUNERAL  TEMPI.K  OF  WOOD,  BAMBOO  AND   PAPER,  TO   BE  BURNED  WITH 
1  HE  BODY  OF  A  DEAD  KING. 

small  sweet-toned    bells,  swinging  and    ringing    in  the 
slightest  breeze,  filling  the  air  with  liquid  melody. 

"How  they  tinkle,  tinkle,  tinkle. 
While  the  stars  that  oversprinkle 


BUDDHISM  IN  SIAM.  eyg 

All  the  heavens,  seem  to  twinkle 

With  a  crystalline  delight ; 

Keeping  time,  time,  time, 

In  a  sort  of  Runic  rhyme, 

To  the  tintinnabulation  that  so  musically  wells 

From  the  bells,  bells,  bells,  bells, 

Bells,  bells— 
From  the  jingling  and  the  tinkling  of  the  bells." 

Within  the  Wat  Chang  inclosure,  besides  the  pagoda, 
are  priests'  dwelHngs,  temples,  with  their  idols,  a  preach- 
ing-hall, a  library  and  small  parks,  with  flower  and  fruit- 
gardens,  ponds,  caves  and  stone  statues  of  Chinese  sages 
and  warriors,  presenting  a  scene  of  bewildering  richness. 

TEMPLE  OF  THE  EMERALD  IDOL. 

The  Wat  P'hra  Keau  is  the  temple  where  the  reign- 
ing monarch  worships.  On  the  road  leading  to  this 
temple  is  another  temple,  the  Wat  Poh,  where  reposes  in 
gigantic  state  the  wondrous  Sleeping  Idol.  This  is  a  re- 
clining figure,  150  feet  long  and  40  feet  high,  entirely 
covered  with  gold-plate.  The  soles  of  this  giant  figure's 
feet  are  covered  with  carvings  inlaid  with  pearl  and  chased 
with  gold.  The  designs  of  these  carvings  represent  the 
many  transmigrations  of  Buddha  before  he  obtained  Nir- 
vana (or,  as  the  Siamese  call  it,  Niphan).  On  the  nails 
of  the  toes  are  engraven  Buddha's  ten  divine  attributes. 
Beyond  this  temple  are  the  stables,  or,  more  properly 
speaking,  the  Palace  of  the  White  Elephant,  where  the 
huge  creature  is  housed  and  cared  for  royally. 

Beyond  these  is  the  Temple  of  the  Emerald  Idol.  This 
is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  and  beautiful  structures  of 
its  kind  in  all  the  East.  Its  model  is  like  that  of  all  the 
others,  but  its  finish  is  of  a  much  higher  order.  The  ex- 
terior is  adorned  with  lofty  octagonal  pillars,  with  quaint 
Gothic  doors  and  windows,  all  car\^ed  with  a  great  variety 


58o 


EEHOK'S   CHAINS. 


of  emblems,  the  lotos  and  the  palm  occurring  most  fre- 
quently. This  temple,  like  all  Siamese  temples,  is  built 
of  brick,  with  a  number  of  roofs  rising  in  connected  tiers, 


and  reaching  out  over  broad  verandas,  supported  by 
rows  of  pillars,  the  whole  covered  with  white  cement. 
The  roofs  are  usually  made  of  many-colored  tiles  ;  at  the 
ends  of  the  ridge-pole  are  many  ornaments,  resembling 


ALTAR  OF  THE  TEMPLE  OF  THE  EMERALD  IDOL,  blAM, 


BUDDHISM  IN  SI  AM. 


583 


bullocks'  horns  in  size  and  shape.  The  walls  and  ceil- 
ing of  the  interior  are  covered  with  finely-executed  paint- 
ings. Mrs.  Leonowens,  an  English  lady  who  lived  for 
six  years  in  the  palace  of  the  King  of  Siam,  and  who 
thereby  enjoyed  unusual  privileges,  thus  describes  the 
interior  and  worship  of  the  Wat  P'hra  Keau  : 

"  The  altar  is  a  wonder  of  dimensions  and  splendor-  - 
a  pyramid  100  feet  high,  terminating  in  a  fine  spire  of 
gold,  and  surrounded  on  every  side  by  idols,  all  curious 
and  precious,  from  the  bijou  image  in  sapphire  to  the 
colossal  statue  in  plate-gold.  A  series  of  trophies  these, 
gathered  from  the  triumphs  of  Buddhism  over  the  proud- 
est forms  of  worship  in  the  old  pagan  world.  In  the 
pillars  that  surround  the  temple,  and  the  spires  that  taper 
far  aloft,  may  be  traced  types  and  emblems  borrowed  from 
the  Temple  of  the  Sun  at  Baalbec,  the  proud  fane  of  Diana 
at  Ephesus,  the  shrines  of  the  Delian  Apollo ;  but  the 
Brahminical  symbols  and  interpretations  prevail.  Strange 
that  it  should  be  so  with  a  sect  that  suffered  by  the  slay- 
ings  and  the  banishments  of  a  ruthless  persecution,  at 
the  hands  of  their  Brahmin  fathers,  for  the  cause  of  re- 
storing the  culture  of  that  simple  and  pure  philosophy 
which  flourished  before  Pantheism. 

"The  floor  is  paved  with  diamond-shaped  pieces  of 
polished  brass,  which  reflect  the  light  of  tall  tapers  that 
have  burned  on  for  more  than  a  hundred  years,  so  closely 
is  the  sacred  fire  watched.  The  floods  of  light  and  depths 
of  shadow  about  the  altar  are  extreme,  and  the  effect 
overwhelminor. 

"The  Emerald  Idol  is  about  twelve  inches  high  and 
eight  in  width.  Into  the  virgin  gold  of  which  its  hair  and 
collar  are  composed,  must  have  been  stirred,  while  the 
metal  was  yet  molten,  crystals,  topazes,  sapphires,  rubies, 
onyxes,  amethysts  and  diamonds — the  stones  crude,  or 


584 


£A-A'OA"S   CHAINS. 


rudely  cut,  and  blended  in  such  proportions  as  might 
•enhance  to  the  utmost  imaginable  limit  the  beauty  and 
the  cost  of  the  adored  effigy.  The  combination  is  as 
harmonious  as  it  is  splendid.  No  wonder  it  is  commonly 
believed  that  Buddha  himself  alighted  on  the  spot  in  the 
form  of  a  great  emerald,  and  by  a  flash  of  lightning  con- 
jured the  glittering  edifice  and  altar  in  an  instant  from 
the  earth,  to  be  a  house  and  a  throne  for  him  there ! 

"On  either  side  of  the  eastern  entrance — called  'The 
Beautiful  Gate' — stands  a  modern  statue;  one  of  Saint 
Peter,  with  flowing  mantle  and  sandaled  feet,  in  an  atti- 
tude of  sorrow,  as  when  '  he  turned  away  his  face  and 
wept;'  the  other  of  Ceres,  scattering  flowers.  The  west- 
•ern  entrance,  which  admits  only  ladies,  is  called  'The  An- 
sel's Gate,'  and  is  guarded  by  genii  of  ferocious  aspect. 

"  On  a  floor  diamonded  with  polished  brass  sat  a  throng 
of  women,  the  elite  of  Siam.  All  were  robed  in  pure 
white,  with  white  silk  scarfs  drawn  from  the  left  shoulder 
in  careful  folds  across  the  bust  and  back,  and  thrown 
gracefully  over  the  right.  A  little  apart  sat  their  female 
slaves,  of  whom  many  were  inferior  to  their  mistresses 
only  in  social  consideration  and  wordly  gear,  being  their 
half  sisters — children  of  the  same  father  by  a  slave 
mother. 

"The  women  sat  in  circles,  and  each  displayed  her  vase 
of  flowers  and  her  lighted  taper  before  her.  In  front  of 
all  were  a  number  of  my  younger  pupils,  the  royal  chil- 
dren, in  circles  also.  Close  by  the  altar,  on  a  low  square 
stool,  overlaid  with  a  thin  cushion  of  silk,  sat  the  high- 
priest.  Chow  Khoon  Sah.  In  his  hand  he  held  a  concave 
fan,  lined  with  pale-green  silk,  the  back  richly  embroid- 
ered, jeweled  and  gilt.  He  was  draped  in  a  yellow  robe, 
not  unlike  the  Roman  toga,  a  loose  and  flowing  habit, 
closed  below  the  waist,  but  open  from  the  throat  to  the 


RUINED  TEMPLE  AND  IDOL  OF  BUDDHA  AT  AYUDIA,  THE  OLD  CAPITAL  OF  SIAM. 


BUDDHISM  IN  SIAM. 


587 


girdle,  which  was  simply  a  band  of  yellow  cloth,  bound 
tightly.  From  the  shoulders  hung  two  narrow  strips, 
also  yellow,  descending  over  the  robe  to  the  feet,  and 
resembling  the  scapular  worn  by  certain  orders  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  clergy.  At  his  side  was  an  open  watch 
of  gold,  the  gift  of  his  sovereign.  At  his  feet  sat  seven- 
teen disciples,  shading  their  faces  with  fans  less  richly 
adorned. 

"We  put  off  our  shoes — my  child  and  I — having  respect 
for  the  ancient  prejudice  against  them,  feeling  not  so 
much  reverence  for  the  place  as  for  the  hearts  that  wor- 
shiped there ;  caring  to  display  not  so  much  the  love  of 
wisdom  as  the  wisdom  of  love ;  and  well  were  we  repaid 
by  the  grateful  smile  of  recognition  that  greeted  us  as 
ive  entered. 

"We  sat  down  cross-legged.  No  need  to  hush  my 
l)oy ;  the  silence  there,  so  subduing,  checked  with  its  mys- 
terious awe  even  his  inquisitive  young  mind.  The  vener- 
able high-priest  sat  with  his  face  jealously  covered,  lest 
his  eyes  should  tempt  his  thoughts  to  stray.  I  changed 
my  position  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  his  countenance.  He 
drew  his  fan-veil  more  closely,  giving  me  a  quick,  but 
gentle  half-glance  of  remonstrance.  Then  raising  his 
eyes,  with  lids  nearly  closed,  he  chanted  in  an  infantile, 
wailingf  tone. 

"That  was  the  opening  prayer.  At  once  the  whole 
congregation  raised  themselves  on  their  knees,  and,  all 
together,  prostrated  themselves  thrice  profoundly,  thrice 
touching  the  polished  brass  floor  with  their  foreheads, 
and  then,  with  heads  bowed  and  palms  folded  and  eyes 
closed,  they  delivered  the  responses  after  the  priest, 
much  in  the  manner  of  the  English  Liturgy;  first  the 
priest,  then  the  people,  and  finally  all  together.  There 
was  no  singing,  no  standing  up  and  sitting  down,  no 


588 


EJiROR'S   CHAINS. 


changing  of  robes  and  places,  no  turning  the  face  to  the 
altar,  nor  north,  nor  south,  nor  east,  nor  west.  All 
knelt  still,  with  hands  folded  straight  before  them,  and  eyes 
strictly,  tightly  closed.  Indeed,  there  were  faces  there 
that  expressed  devotion  and  piety,  the  humblest  and  the 
purest,  as  the  lips  murmured,  '  O,  Thou  Eternal  One, 
Thou  perfection  of  Time,  Thou  truest  Truth,  Thou  im- 
mutable essence  of  all  Change,  Thou  most  excellent  ra- 
diance of  Mercy,  Thou  infinite  Compassion,  Thou  Pity, 
Thou  Charity!' 

"I  lost  some  of  the  responses  in  the  simultaneous  repe- 
tition, and  did  but  imperfectly  comprehend  the  exhorta- 
tion that  followed,  in  which  was  inculcated  the  strictest 
practice  of  charity,  in  a  manner  so  pathetic  and  so  gentle 
as  might  be  wisely  imitated  by  the  most  orthodox  of 
Christian  priests.  There  was  majesty  in  the  humility  of 
those  pagan  worshipers,  and  in  their  shame  of  self  they 
were  sublime." 

WORSHIP    OF    THE    WHITE    ELEPHANT 

With  regard  to  this  subject,  before  referred  to,  we 
prefer  using  another's  description: 

Sir  John  Bowring  tells  us  that  the  Buddhists  have  a 
special  reverence  for  white  quadrupeds;  that  he  has  him- 
self seen  a  white  monkey  honored  with  special  attention. 
Also,  that  white  elephants  have  been  the  cause  of  many  a 
war,  and  their  possession  more  an  object  of  envy  than  the 
conquest  of  territory  or  the  transitory  glories  of  the  battle- 
field. In  the  money  market  a  white  elephant  is  almost 
beyond  price.  Fifty  thousand  dollars  would  hardly  repre- 
sent its  pecuniary  value;  a  hair  from  its  tail  is  worth  a 
Jew's  ransom.  "  It  was  my  good  fortune,"  he  says,  "to  pre- 
sent to  the  First  King  of  Siam  (the  Siamese  have  two  kings 
exercising  supreme  authority)  presents  with  which  I  had 


BUDDHISM  IN  SIAM 


589 


been  charged   by  my  royal   mistress.     I   received   many 
presents  in  return ;   but  the  monarch  placed   in  my  hand 


a  golden  box,  locked  with  a  golden  key,  and  he  informed 

me  the  box  contained  a  gift  far  more  valuable  than  all 

the  rest,  and  that  was  a  few  hairs  of  the  white  elephant. 
36 


590 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


And  perhaps  It  may  be  well  to  state  why  the  white  ele- 
phant is  so  specially  reverenced.  "  It  Is  because  it  is  be- 
lieved  that   Buddha,  the   supreme   emanation   from   the 

Deity,  will  ne- 
cessarily, in  his 
multitudinous 
metamorphos- 
es or  transmis- 
sions through, 
all  the  grades 
P  of  existences,, 
and  though, 
millions  of  ae- 
ons, delight  ta 
abide  for  some 
time  in  that 
grand  incarna- 
tion of  purity 
which  is  re- 
presented by, 
and  found  in 
the  white  ele- 
phant. While 
all  the  bon- 
zes teach  that 
there  is  no 
spot  in  the 
heavens abov 
or    the    earti) 

below,  or  the  waters  under  the  earth,  which  is  not  visited 
in  the  peregrinations  of  the  divinity — whose  every  stage 
or  step  is  toward  purification — they  hold  that  his  tarrying 
may  be  longer  In  the  white  elephant  than  in  any  other 
ibode,  and  that  In  the  possession  of  the  sacred  creature 


TOMB  OF  A  BUDDHIST  SAINT. 


B  UDDHISM  IN.  SI  AM.  eg  | 

they  may  possess  the  presence  of  Buddha  himself.  It  is 
known  that  the  Ceylonese  have  been  kept  in, subjection 
by  the  behef  that  their  rulers  have  a  tooth  of  Buddha  in 
the  temple  of  Kandy,  and  that  on  various  tracts  of  the 
East  impressions  of  the  foot  of  Buddha  are  reverenced, 
and  are  the  objects  of  weary  pilgrimages  to  places  which 
can  only  be  reached  with  difficulty;  but  with  the  white  ele- 
phant some  vague  notions  of  a  vital  Buddha  are  asso- 
ciated, and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  marvelous 
sagacity  of  the  creature  has  served  to  strengthen  their 
religious  prejudices.  Siamese  are  known  to  whisper 
their  secrets  into  an  elephant's  ear,  and  to  ask  a  solu- 
tion of  their  perplexities  by  some  sign  or  movement. 
And  most  assuredly  there  is  more  sense  and  reason  in 
the  worship  of  an  intelligent  beast  than  in  that  of  stocks 
and  stones,  the  work  of  men's  hands. 

"And  yet,"  continues  Sir  John,  "after  all,  the  M^hite 
elephant  is  not  white,  nor  anything  like  it.  It  is  of  a 
coffee-color;  not  of  unburnt,  but  of  burnt  coffee — dull 
brownish  yellow  or  yellowish  brown — white  only  by  con- 
trast with  his  darker  brother.  The  last  which  reached 
Bangkok  was  caught  in  the  woods.  The  king  and  court 
went  a  long  way  out  into  the  country  to  meet  him,  and 
he  was  conducted  with  a  grand  procession,  much  pomp 
and  music,  and  flying  banners,  to  the  capital.  There  a 
grand  mansion  awaited  him,  and  several  of  the  leading 
nobility  were  appointed  his  custodians.  The  walls  were 
painted  to  represent  forests,  no  doubt  to  remind  him  of 
his  native  haunts,  and  to  console  him  in  his  absence  from 
them.  All  his  wants  were  sedulously  provided  for,  and 
in  his  'walks  abroad,'  when  'many  men  he  saw,'  he  was 
escorted  by  music  and  caparisoned  by  costly  vestments. 
His  grandest  and  farthest  promenades  were  to  bathe  in 
the  river,  when  other  elephants  were  in  attendance,  hon- 


rq2  ERROR'S   CfJA/NS. 

ored  by  being  made  auxiliaries  to  Iiis  grandeur.  Now 
and  then  die  two  sovereigns  sought  his  presence,  but  I 
did  not  learn  that  his  dignity  condescended  to  oblige 
them  with  any  special  nodce.  But  he  wanted  no  addition 
to  his  dignity.  Everything  associated  with  majesty  and 
rank  bore  his  image.  A  white  elephant  is  the  badge  of 
distinction.  The  royal  flags  and  seals,  medals  and 
moneys — on  all  sides  the  white  elephant  is  the  national 
emblem,  as  the  cross  among  Christians,  or  the  crescent 
among  Turks ;  and  the  Siamese  are  prouder  of  it  than 
Americans,  Russians,  Germans  or  French  are  of  their 
eagles,  or  Spaniards  of  the  golden  fleece.  The  Bourbon 
Oi'iflaimne,  the  British  Union  Jack,  show  but  faintly  in 
the  presence  of  the  white  elephant." 

RUINS  OF  THE  GREAT  TEMPLE  OF  NAGKON  WAT. 

Some  of  the  most  famous  ruins  of  the  world,  and  but 
little  known  to  general  readers,  are  those  at  Angkor,  in 
Eastern  Siam.  The  Frenchman,  M.  Mouhot,  says  the 
ruins  of  Nagkon  Wat — a  temple  which  must  have  ri- 
valed the  temple  of  Solomon  in  its  splendor — might 
take  a  most  honorable  place  beside  our  most  beautiful 
buildings.  It  is  grander  than  anything  left  to  us  by 
Greece  and  Rome.  Another  writer  says  the  ruins  of 
Angkor  are  as  imposing  as  the  ruins  of  Thebes  or  Mem- 
phis, and  more  mysterious.  Modern  travelers  have 
proved  In  their  descriptions  of  these  ruins  that  these  are 
not  words  of  fulsome  praise. 

There  are  no  certain  answers  to  the  questions  who 
built  it?  when  was  it  built?  and  what  has  become  of  the 
builders  ?  But  recent  researches  in  Chinese  history  seem 
to  show  that  it  was  built  between  the  tenth  and  twel'^th 
centuries  A.  D. 

The  visitor  enters  upon  an  immense  causeway,   725 


BUDDHISM  IN  SI  AM. 


593 


feet  long,  with  six  gigantic  griffins,  each  carved  from  a 
single  block  of  stone,  ranged  alono^  its  sides.     On  either 


c-QA  £  RIGOR'S   CHAINS. 

side  of  the  causeway  are  artificial  lakes,  each  of  about 
five  acres  in  extent.  The  temple  is  romantically,  as  well 
as  beautifully  and  impressively  situated  in  the  midst  of  a 
forest  of  palm-trees.  The  outer  wall  of  the  Nagkon 
Wat  is  about  half  a  mile  square,  and  is  built  of  sand- 
stone, with  gate-ways  upon  each  side.  These  are  hand- 
somely carved  with  figures  of  gods  and  dragons.  The 
main  gate-way  is  on  the  western  side,  passing  through 
which  and  up  a  causeway,  for  a  distance  of  i,ooo  feet, 
one  comes  to  the  central  main  entrance  of  the  temple. 
The  entire  building  is  raised  on  three  terraces,  each 
about  thirty  feet  above  the  other.  The  whole  is  built  of 
stone,  without  cement,  with  joints  so  closely  fitting  that 
even  the  lapse  of  years  has  not  seamed.  The  immense 
blocks  of  stone  were  quarried  about  thirty  miles  away. 
The  central  temple  is  oblong,  being  796  feet  long,  585 
feet  wide,  and  250  feet  high  in  the  centre.  From  the 
door-way,  on  either  side,  runs  back  a  hall-way,  with  a 
double  row  of  columns,  each  cut — base,  shaft  and  capi- 
tal— from  a  single  block.  This  hall-way  has  an  oval- 
shaped  roof,  covered  with  carvings  and  walls  covered 
with  sculptures.  This  gallery  of  sculptures,  which  forms 
the  exterior  of  the  temples,  consists  of  over  half  a  mile  of 
continuous  pictures,  cut  upon  sandstone  slabs,  each  six 
feet  in  width.  These  sculptures  represent  subjects  taken 
from  the  Hindu  book  called  the  Ramayana,  which  de- 
scribes the  adventures  of  the  god  Rama  and  the  son  ot 
the  king  of  Oudh. 

In  the  Nagkon  Wat  1,532  solid  columns  have  been 
counted.  Passing  on  up  steep  staircases,  we  come  to 
several  image-houses.  These  contain  several  hundred 
images,  made  of  stone,  wood,  brass,  clay,  of  all  shapes, 
sizes  and  ages.  Galleries  cross  and  recross  each  other. 
Finally  we  come  to  the  central  pagoda,  in  which  are  at 


BUDDHISM  IN  SI  AM. 


595 


present  placed  colossal  images  of  Buddda.     This  temple 
is  believed  to  be  at  least  2,000  years  old. 

A  little  ways  from  the  Nagkon  Wat  rests  the  statue 
of  the  Leper  King,  who  is  supposed  to  have  assisted  in 


STATUE  OF  THE  LEPER  KING. 


the  building  of  the  temple.  This  famous  statue  is  carved 
from  sandstone,  in  a  sitting  posture  ;  the  eyes  are  closed; 
a  thin  mustache,  twisted  up  at  the  ends,  covers  the 
upper  lip ;  the  ears  are  long ;  the  hair  is  thick,  and  dis- 
played in  curls  upon  the  head,  the  top  of  which  is  sur- 


5^6  EA'KO/^-S    CHAINS. 

mounted  by  a  small,  round  crown.  The  tradition  says 
that  this  king  was  an  Egyptian,  who  for  some  wicked  deed 
was  turned  into  a  leper,  and  who  built  the  temple  in  ful- 
fillment of  a  vow  that  he  mitrht  be  freed  from  his  disease. 

SOME    OTHER    TEMPLES. 

Near  Pechaburi  is  a  cavern,  or  series  of  small  caves, 
called  the  Cave  of  Idols.  One  or  two  small  openings  in 
the  ceiling  permit  the  light  to  enter.  Rows  of  gilt  Bud- 
dhas  line  its  sides,  and  a  huge  reclining  image  of  Buddha 
lies  at  one  end  of  the  halls.  Just  outside  of  the  cave,  and 
at  the  bottom  of  the  hill,  is  a  temple  containing  another 
immense  reclining  Buddha.  This  is  built  of  brick  and 
mortar,  covered  with  thick  gold-leaf.  It  is  clothed  with 
yellow  garments,  such  as  the  Siamese  and  Burmese  Bud- 
dhist priests  wear.  Its  head  rests  upon  the  right  hand 
and  presses  upon  a  gayly-ornamented  pillow.  The  idol 
is  135  feet  high. 

We  notice  that  very  many  of  these  immense  reclining 
idols  of  Buddha  are  found  in  Siam  alone. 

There  are  3.000,000  of  Chinese  in  Siam,  who  are  Bud- 
dhists and  have  their  own  temples.  The  largest  of  these 
is  in  Bangfkok,  and  contains  a  brass  Buddha,  sittinof  cross- 
legged,  and  about  fifty  feet  high,  and  forty  feet  wide  at 
the  knees.  The  immense  temple  r^of  is  100  feet  from 
the  ground.  In  a  smaller  temple,  in  the  same  inclosure, 
is  another  brass  Buddha,  seated  upon  a  rock,  with  a 
copper  elephant  on  one  side  and  a  leaden  monkey  on  the 
other,  looking  up,  in  reverence,  at  the  idol  Buddha. 

When  the  King  of  Siam  dies,  the  funeral  ceremonies 
are  participated  in  by  the  nation.  During  about  four 
months,  300  or  400  men  are  engaged  in  building  the 
funeral  temple.  The  funeral  pile,  on  which  the  body  is 
to  be  burned,  is  placed  in  the  centre,  and  the  temple 


B UDDHISM  IN  SIAM.  rgy 

built  around  and  above  it.  Its  style  is  similar  to  other 
Siamese  temples.  The  trunks  of  teak  trees,  not  less  than 
1 70  feet  high,  are  placed  upright  so  as  to  form  a  square 
about  thirty  feet  each  way.  On  this  is  built  an  octagonal, 
sixty- foot  spire,  covered  with  gold-leaf.  Around  this 
central  building  poles  are  erected,  on  which  are  hung 
peculiar  ornaments  covered  with  crimson  cloth.  Around 
the  interior  are  grouped  pictures  of  the  gods  and  of  the 
Buddhist's  heaven,  with  lakes,  groves  and  gardens.  All 
around  the  temple  is  a  screen  of  woven  bamboo  work,, 
and  the  ground  is  covered  with  the  same.  The  whole 
exterior  of  the  temple  is  decorated  with  objects  of  glass, 
porcelain,  alabaster  and  silver,  with  artificial  flowers  and 
images  of  birds,  beasts,  men  and  angels.  Splendid  chan- 
deliers are  suspended  from  the  ceiling.  Under  the  cen- 
tral tower  is  a  pyramidal  pile,  on  which  the  body  is  to  be 
burned.  Thousands  of  priests  are  engaged  in  prayers 
during  the  service.  The  scene  and  service  at  such  a 
time  is  impressive  beyond  the  power  of  description. 


598 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

LAMAISM,    THE    BUDDHISM    OF    THIBET. 

Ah!  blessed  Lord  !     Oh,  High  Deliverer! 
Forgive  this  feeble  script,  which  doth  thee  wrong. 
Measuring  with  little  wit  thy  lofty  love. 
Ah  !  Lover  !  Brother  I   Guide  !  Lamp  of  the  Law ! 
I  take  my  refuge  in  Thy  name  and  Thee  ! 
I  take  my  refuge  in  Thy  Law  of  Good  ! 
I  take  my  refuge  in  Thy  Order !   Om  ! 
The  Dew  is  on  the  Lotus  !     Rise,  Great  Sun  ! 
And  lift  my  leaf  and  mix  me  with  the  wave. 
Om  A'lani  Padme  Hum,  the  Sunrise  comes  I 
The  Dewdrop  slips  into  the  shining  Sea! 
Edwin  Arnold.     (Peroration  of  "the  Light  of  Asia.") 

THIBET  is  a  country  lying  north  of  India  and  west 
of  China.  It  has  a  population  of  about  six  mil- 
lions. The  early  worship  of  the  Thibetans  was 
that  of  spirits,  devils  and  of  nature.  The  old  worship, 
called  the  Bon  religion,  bore  a  strong  resemblance  to  the 
Taoism  of  China,  and  even  to-day  Buddhism  has  not 
destroyed  that  old  religion  entirely.  The  people  still 
have  gods  of  the  hills,  trees,  dales  and  lakes,  and  still 
use  charms  and  resort  to  magic.  Just  when  Buddhism 
was  introduced  into  this  branch  of  the  Mongolian  family 
we  cannot  tell,  but  it  certainly  was  not  well-established 
until  630  A.  D.  All  around  Thibet  Buddhist  missiona- 
ries had  gone  long  before  this,  and  it  is  probable  that 
there  is  some  myth  in  the  tradition  that  a  few  missiona- 
ries toiled,  though  in  vain,  to  bring  the  Thibetans  to  the 
Buddhist  belief.      \t  the  beij^inning  of  the  fifth   century 


LA  MA  ISM,   THE  BUDDHISM  OF  THIBET. 


59<: 


Fa-Hian,  the  Chinese  monk,  made  a  pilgrimage  to  the 
sacred  places  of  Buddhism  in  India.  He  and  his  four 
companions  were  forced   to  avoid  crossing  Great  Thibet. 


SKETCH    OF    THE    HISTORY    OF    LAMAISM. 

A  Thibetan  king  established  his  seat  of  government 
at  H'lassa  in  617  A.  D.  He  married  a  Chinese  princess 
of  the   Buddhist  -^         - 

faith.     By  her  re-  ^~ 
quest,  he  sent  a  J 

•       •  T  T  k* 

mmister  to  India,   » 
whobroughtback  B 

o  — 

with  him  a  great 
number    of     the 
Buddhist    sacred 
books.    The  king 
had    great    diffi- 
culty in  overcom-  j 
ing  the  objections  | 
of    both     priests 
and    people,   but 
finally  succeeded.  J 
About  the  middle 
of  the  fourteenth 
century   a    great  ^ 
reformer      arose 
in  Thibet  named 
T  s  o  n  g  -  k  h  a  p  a . 
He    forbade    the 
priests  to  marry, 
and  declared  that 
magic  and  necro- 
mancy   were    against    Buddhism,   and   introduced  other 
changes.     Another  great  reformer  lived  about  the  same 


A  THIBETAN  I.AD. 


6oo 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


time  named  Gedeen-tubpa ;  he  built  the  great  monastery 
at  Teshu  Lumbo  in  1445,  and  in  him  commenced  the 
perpetual  incarnation  of  Buddha,  in  the  persons  of  the 
Grand  Lamas.  In  1650  the  sixth  successor  of  this  last 
reformer  visited  the  Emperor  of  China,  and  accepted 
from  him  the  designation  of  Dalai  Lama,  Lama  meaning- 
priest,  and  Dalai,  ocean.  There  are  several  rival  Grand 
Lamas,  the  Dalai  Lama,  the  Teshu  Lama  and  the  Tara- 
nath  Lama.  There  rapidly  grew  up  in  Thibet  a  system 
of  organized  priesthood,  which  has  made  the  Buddhism 
of  Thibet  almost  altogether  unlike  that  of  any  other  land. 


MONKS    AND    MONASTERIES. 

There  are  the  monks  and  clergy,  who  are  subordinate 
to  the  holy  and  sacred  Lamas,  the  monks  and  nuns,  the 

abbots  and  abbesses,  chief  La- 
mas, and,  over  all,  the  Grand 
Lama.  The  monks  go  bare- 
headed, though  those  of  high 
rank  wear  caps ;  their  heads 
are  shaved,  and  they  are  dress- 
ed in  a  yellow  robe  and  high 
leathern  boots,  with  the  men- 
dicant's food-bowl  and  the 
prayer-wheel  in  their  hands. 
They  are  collected  in  vast  mon- 
asteries scattered  over  the 
country,  the  largest  and  most 
numerous  being  round  the  city 
of  H'lassa.  These  monasteries 
contain  many  thousands  of  la- 
MONASTERY  OF  HEMis  IN  I HF.     mas,     and     similar     establish- 

HIMALAYAS.  .  ^^  J  ^  1       • 

ments  are  scattered  not  only  m 
the  inhabited  valleys,  but  over  the  wildest  parts  of  Great 


LA  MA  ISM,  THE  BUDDHISM  OF  THIBET. 


60 1 


Thibet,  As  there  is  Httle  wood  in  the  country,  the  people 
rarely  burn  their  dead.  The  dead  bodies  are  usually  car- 
ried to  a  high  mountain,  to  be  devoured  by  beasts  and 
birds.  The  monks'  bodies  are,  however,  burned,  and  their 
ashes  carefully  gathered  as  relics.  Women  are  not  buried 
or  exposed  with  the  bodies  of  their  dead  husbands,  as 
was  once  the  case  with  Hindu  women.  In  fact,  this  is 
rendered  impossible  by  the  existence  of  polyandry,  one 
woman  in  Thibet 
generally  having 
many  husbands. 
The  monaste- 
ries are  called 
Gonpas ;  the  La- 
mas' house,  Lab- 
rang;  and  the 
temple,  consist- 
ing of  a  room 
full  of  images 
and  pictures, 
Lhakhang.  The 
Dtmg-ten  is  a  rel- 
ic repository,such  ;^ 
as  the  7^opc  of  In- 
dia ;  and  immense 
votive  piles  of 
stones  or  dykes, 
from  a  few  feet 
to  half  a  mile  in 
length,  covered 
with  slabs  and 
stuck  over  with  banners  inscribed  with  the  Thibetaw 
prayer  Om  mani  padmi  hum,  are  called  Mani.  The  im- 
ages of  Buddha  are  always  seated,  with  the  right  hand 


TARTAR  WOMAN, 


5o2  EHHOJi'S   CHAINS. 

resting  on  the  knee,  the  left  on  the  lap,  and  holding  the 
alms-dish ;  the  body  painted  yellow  or  gilt,  and  the  hair 
short  and  curly  and  painted  blue.  They  are  of  all  sizes, 
and  there  are  other  imacres  of  beings  connected  with 
Buddhistic  ideas. 

The  services  consist  of  recitations  and  chanting  of  the 
StUras,  or  precepts  and  rules  of  discipline,  to  the  sound 
of  musical  instruments,  trumpets,  drums,  cymbals  and 
conch-shells.  The  tunes  are  impressive  and  solemn ; 
incense  is  burned  during  the  services,  and  there  are  offer- 
incTs  of  fruits  and  erain  to  Buddha  and  to  the  Buddhisa- 
twas,  especially  to  Avaloki-teswara,  who  is  incarnate  in 
the  Dalai  Lama.  Mystical  sentences  and  titles  of  Bud- 
dha are  also  recited.  The  bell  is  used  during  the  per- 
formance of  service,  and  the  prayer-wheels — metal  cylin- 
ders, containing  printed  prayers  in  rolls,  with  the  axes 
prolonged  to  form  handles — are  in  constant  use,  not  only 
during  the  service,  but  on  every  occasion,  being  fixed  in 
rows  on  the  walls  of  temples,  near  villages,  and  in  streams, 
to  be  turned  by  water.  The  prayer- wheels  have  been  in 
use  among  these  people  for  more  than  a  thousand  years, 
for  they  are  mentioned  by  the  pilgrim  Fa-Hian. 

TEMPLE    AT    TESHU    LUMBO    MONASTERY. 

It  contains  thirteen  gigantic  figures,  which  would  be 
about  eight  feet  high  standing,  but  they  are  all,  except 
the  image  of  the  god  of  war  and  another,  sitting  cross- 
legged.  They  are  of  copper-gilt,  holding  a  pot  with 
flowers  or  fruit  in  their  lap.  They  are  represented  cov- 
ered with  mantles,  and  crowns  or  mitres  on  their  heads; 
and  altogether,  particularly  the  drapery,  are  far  from 
being  badly  executed.  The  thrones  upon  which  they  sit 
are  also  of  copper-gilt,  adorned  with  turquols,  cornelians 
and   other  Inferior  stones.     The    mouldings   and   orna- 


LAMA  ISM,  THE  BUDDHISM  OF  THIBET. 


603 


ments  of  the  thrones  are  in  a  good  style.  Behind  each 
figure  the  wall  is  covered  with  a  piece  of  carved  work, 
like  unto  the  heavy  gilt  frames  of  our  forefathers'  por- 
traits or  looking-glasses.  Behind  them  are  china  vases, 
some  of  them  very  handsome  ;  loads  of  china  and  glass- 
ware, the  last  partly  Chinese,  pardy  European,  filled  with 
grain,  fruit  or  gum  flowers,  a  variety  of  shells,  large 
conches  set  in  silver,  some  ostrich  eggs,  cocoanuts,  cym- 
bals, and  a  variety  of  other  articles,  making  a  most  heter- 
ogeneous gathering.  Round  the  necks  of  the  images  are 
strings  of  coral,  ill-shaped  pearls,  cornelian,  agate  and 
other  stones,  and  their  crowns  are  set  with  the  like  orna- 
ments. The  ceiling  of  the  gallery  is  covered  with  satins 
of  a  variety  of  patterns,  some  Chinese,  some  Kalmuk, 
some  European,  brought  through  Russia  and  overland. 
The  gallery  is  lighted  on  the  south  side  from  five  win- 
dows, and  the  walls  between  are  hung  with  paintings  of  the 
different  deities  and  views  of  heaven.  The  opposite  side, 
where  the  imacres  are,  is  shut  in  all  the  length  of  the  eal- 
lery  with  a  net  of  iron-work  that  meddlers  may  be  kept  off. 

SERVICES    AT   THE    h'lASSA    CATHEDRAL. 

Koppen  presents  a  very  full  account  of  the  worship  in 
one  of  the  chief  Buddhist  temples,  in  the  centre  of  Bud- 
dhism, the  city  of  H'lassa.  Rhys-David  condenses  this 
as  follows : 

The  entrance  to  the  chief  temples  of  the  holy  city  is 
through  a  large  hall  where  holy  water  and  rosaries  are 
sold,  and  in  which  stand  four  statues  of  the  archangels. 
The  walls  are  covered  with  rude  paintings  of  scenes  from 
the  legends  of  Buddha,  and  its  roof  is  supported  by  six 
massive  pillars,  covered  with  beautiful  carving,  spoilt  by 
gorgeous  paint  and  gilding.  The  temple  itself  is  a  long 
nave,  divided  by  rows  of  pillars  from  two  aisles,  and  by 


6o4 


EjKror's  chains. 


silver  screens  of  open  trellis-work  from  two  large  chan- 
cels. Into  the  aisle  on  each  side  open  fourteen  chapels ; 
at  the  end  is  the  holy  place.  In  its  furthest  niche,  in  a 
kind  of  apse,  is  the  magnificent  golden  statue  of  the  now 
deified  Gautama  Buddha.  In  front  of  the  idol  is  the  high 
altar  or  table  of  offerings,  raised  by  several  stages  frora 
the  floor ;  on  the  upper  levels  being  images  of  gold,  sil- 
ver and  clay;  on  the  lower,  the  bells,  lamps,  censers  and 
other  vessels  used  in  the  holy  service.  At  the  sound  of 
a  trumpet  the  clergy  assemble  in  the  entrance  hall,  wear- 
ing the  cloak  and  cap  ;  at  its  third  blast  the  procession, 
with  the  livino-  Buddha,  the  Grand  Lama,  at  its  head, 
marches  down  the  aisle.  When  he  is  seated  on  his 
throne,  each  Lama,  or  cardinal,  bows  three  times  before 
him,  and  then  seats  himself  on  a  divan  according  to  his 
rank.  After  a  bell  is  runof.  the  ten  Buddhist  command- 
ments  are  repeated  and  other  formulas,  then  the  priests 
sing  in  choir  pieces  from  the  sacred  books.  The  monks 
burst  out  into  a  hymn  of  prayer  for  the  presence  of  the 
spirits  of  all  the  Buddhists.  One  of  them  raises  aloft 
over  his  head  a  lookinof-s^lass,  the  idea  of  which  seems  to 
be  to  catch  the  image  of  the  spirit  as  it  comes  ;  a  second 
raises  a  jug ;  a  third  a  mystic  symbol  of  the  world  ;  a 
fourth  a  cup,  and  so  on.  Meanwhile  the  voices  of  the 
singers,  and  the  sound  of  the  bells,  drums  and  trumpets 
grows  louder  and  louder,  and  the  temple  is  filled  with 
incense  from  the  sacred  censers.  The  monk  with  the  jug 
pours  several  times  water,  mixed  with  saffron  and  sugar, 
over  the  mirror,  which  another  wipes  each  time  with  a 
silk  napkin.  The  water  flows  over  the  mirror  to  the 
symbols  of  the  world,  and  is  caught  in  the  cup  beneath. 
Thence  the  holy  mixture  is  poured  into  another  jug,  and 
a  drop  or  two  is  allowed  to  trickle  on  to  the  hands  of 
each  of  the  worshiping  monks,  who  marks  the  crown  of 


LAMA  ISM,   THE  BUDDHISM  OF  THIBET. 


605 


his  shaven  head,  the  forehead  and  his  breast  with  the 
sacred  Hquid.  He  then  reverently  swallows  the  remain- 
ing drops,  and,  in  so  doing,  believes  himself  to  be  swal- 
lowing a  part  of  the  divine  being,  whose  image  has  been 
caught  in  the  mirror  over  which  the  water  has  passed. 


PRAYING-WHEELS. 

Among  the  most  curious  things  in  Thibet  are  the 
praying-wheels.  They  are  litde  wooden  drums  covered 
round  the  sides  with  leather,  and  fitted 
vertically  in  niches  in  the  walls.  A 
spindle  running  through  the  centre 
•enables  them  to  revolve  at  the  sligfht- 
est  push.  They  are  g-enerally  in  rows 
of  eight  and  ten,  and  well  thumbed 
and  worn  they  usually  are.  Others,  of 
larger  dimensions,  are  placed  by 
themselves,  decorated  with  the  words, 
"  Om  mani  padmi  hum,"  in  the  Lanza 
character,  all  round  the  barrel. 

In  the  vicinity  of  the  monasteries 
are  various  small  temples,  like  chapels 
of  ease,   rudely  decorated  with  gro-      praying  machine. 

,  1  1  11  1         Instead  of  saying  prayers  they 

tesque  figures  m  red  and  yellow,  and  seta  machine  in  motion, each 

I  •  11'  .  r  revolution  counting  as  a  prayer. 

having     queer-looking     structures      las-     The  more  prayers  one  says  or 

tened  on  the  top  of  them,  crenerally  a  '"^"''  "^l,  '"°'"^  ^"^=  ^^ '.'  '° 

^  '   o  »  get    to    Heaven.       Sometimes 

trident,  with  tufts  of  hair  attached,  or  ''^^  ^^eei  is  set  so  as  to  be 

1         1  •  1  r  •  1  turned  by  water  or  machinery, 

StripSOf  colored  calico,  horns  of  animals  and  these  macWne-prayers  are 

di  11*  coiinted  as  good  as  others. 

other  rude  devices. 

In  one  place  there  is  a  praying-wheel  turned  by  water; 

but  one  cannot  ascertain  whether  the  benefit  accrues  to 

the  water,  or  to  the  possessor  of  the  stream,  or  to  the 

public  generally.     Sometimes  the  people  carry  portable 

wheels,  and  one  often  meets  them  provided  with  huge 

37 


6o6 


EJiROJi'S  chajn:s. 


brass  ones,  with  a  wooden  handle.  They  are  suspended 
from  their  necks,  in  company  with  a  collection  ot  square 
leather  charms  fastened  by  a  string  to  the  coat,  the  whole 
collection  presenting  a  very  odd  appearance. 

THE    MYSTIC    SENTENCE    OF    THIBET. 

There  is  one  sentence  which  the  Thibetans  and  Mon- 
golians have   continually  in   their  mouths.      The   same 

sentence  is  written  upon  their 
monuments,  temple-walls,  rel- 
ic-houses, prayer-wheels — in- 
deed, almost  everywhere.    It  is 

CM    MANI    PADMI    HUM. 

These  are  words  from  the 
Sanskrit  language.  "  Om," 
among  the  Hindus,  is  the  mys- 
tic name  of  divinity,  which 
begins  all  their  prayers.  It 
corresponds  to  our  interjec- 
tion Oh  !  only  that  it  is  uttered 
with  a  religious  emphasis,  due 
to  its  hidden,  sacred  meaning. 
"  Mani  "  means  jewel ;  "  pad- 
'^-- mi,"  the  lotus;  and  "hum," 
PRAYING  WHEEL  WHIRLED  IN  THE  amen.     So  the  whole  sentence 

HAND. 

is,  "  Oh  !  the  jewel  of  the  lotus. 
Amen."  But  the  Thibetan  Buddhists  have  attached  myste- 
rious meanings  to  each  of  the  six  syllables  of  the  sentence. 
These  meanings  grew  out  of  the  legendary  history  of  the 
Introduction  of  Buddhism  into  Thibet;  but  even  this  is 
all  but  forgotten,  and  the  words  are  repeated  by  the  mil- 
lions of  Thibetans  without  the  slightest  knowledge  of  their 
force,  but  with  a  superstitious  belief  in  their  sacredness, 
which  is  unshaken  and  immovable  as  the  rocks  themselves* 


LAMA  ISM,  THE  BUDDHISM  OF  THIBET. 


607 


THE    INCARNATION    OF    BUDDHA    IN    THE    GRAND    LAMA. 


The  Thibetans  believe  that  the  soul  of  Buddha  dwells 
in  the  body  of  their  high-priest  or  Grand  Lama ;  that,  at 
the  time  of  his 
death,  the  soul 
passes  into  the 
body  of  another 
person,  who  is  to 
be  the  Grand  La- 
ma until  his  death. 
Thus  Buddha  is 
born  and  re-born 
over  and  over 
again.  It  is  an 
easy  matter  to 
determine  into 
whose  body  the 
soul  of  Buddha 
enters,  because 
they  make  it  so. 
It  is  very  much  the  same  as  if  the  chief  Lamas  were  to 
elect  the  Grand  Lama's  successor,  because,  in  reality,  they 
determine  where  the  soul  of  Buddha  shall  be  found.  At 
present,  however,  it  seems  that  the  Emperor  of  China 
exercises  a  paramount  influence  on  the  discovery  of  these 
transmigrations,  or,  in  other  words,  on  the  filling  up  of 
clerical  posts ;  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  his  influ- 
ence is  supreme  in  the  case  of  determining  the  election 
of  the  two  highest  functionaries  of  this  theocracy.  In  or- 
der to  ascertain  the  re-birth  of  a  departed  Lama,  various 
means  are  relied  upon.  Sometimes  the  deceased  had, 
before  his  death,  confidentially  mentioned  to  his  friends 
where  and  in  which  family  he  would  re-appear,  or  his  will 


STONE  WITH  THE  MYSTIC  SENTENCE, 
"OM  MANI  PADMI  HUM." 


6o8 


EHKOR'S    CHAINS. 


contained  intimations  to  this  effect.  In  most  instances, 
however,  the  sacred  books  and  the  official  astrologers  are 
consulted  on  the  subject ;  and  if  the  Dalai-lama  dies,  it  is 

the  duty  of  the 
Pan-chhen  to 
interpret  the 
traditions  and 
the  oracles; 
whereas,  if  the 
latter  dies,  the 
D  a  1  a  i  - 1  a  m  a 
renders  him 
the  same  good 
service.  The 
proclamation 
of  so  great  an 
event,  how- 
ever, as  the 
metempsy- 
chosis of  any 
Dalai-lama  or 
Pan-chhen  is 
preceded  by  a 
close  exami- 
nation of  the  child  that  claims  to  be  in  possession  of  the 
soul  of  either  of  these  personages.  The  re-born  arch- 
saint,  usually  a  boy  four  or  five  years  old,  is  questioned 
as  to  his  previous  career;  books,  garments  and  other 
articles  used  and  not  used  by  the  deceased  are  placed 
before  him,  to  point  out  those  which  belonged  to  him  in 
his  former  life.  But,  however  satisfactory  his  answers 
be,  they  do  not  yet  suffice.  Various  little  bells,  required 
at  the  daily  devotions  of  the  Lama,  are  put  before  the 
boy,  to  select  that  which  he  did  use  when  he  was  the 


MANI  PADEE,  A  BUDDHIST  TOMB  IN  THIBET 


LAMA  ISM,  THE  BUDDHISM  OF  THIBET. 


609 


Dalai-lama  or  Pan-chhen.  "  But  where  is  my  own  favor- 
ite bell,"  the  child  exclaims,  after  having  searched  in  vain  ; 
and  this  question  is  perfecdy  justified,  for,  to  test  the 
veracity  of  the  re-born  saint,  this  particular  bell  has  been 
withheld  from  him.  Now,  however,  there  can  be  no 
doubt  as  to  the  Dalai-lama  or  Pan-chhen  being  bodily 
before  them.  The  believers  fall  on  their  knees,  and  the 
Lamas  who  successfully  performed  all  these  frauds  join 
them  in  announcing  to  the  world  the  momentous  fact. 


THE    LAMAIST   BIBLE. 

The  Thibetan  sacred  books  are  called  Kanjur.  This 
contains  1,083 
works  gathered 
in  180  folio  vol- 
umes. These  are 
divided  into  seven 
sections  as  fol- 
lows :  I .  The  Book 
of  Discipline.  2. 
The  Book  of  the 
Transcendental 
Wisdom.  3.  The 
Book  of  the  Asso- 
ciation of  B  u  d- 
dhas.  4.  The  Book 
of  "the  Jeweled 
Peak,"  (whatever 
that  may  mean). 
5.  The  Book  of 
Aphorisms.  6.  The 
Book  of  the  Doc- 
trine of  "Deliver- 
ance from  Emancipation  from  Existence"  'sic).     7.  '1  he 


A  THIBETAN  WOMAN. 


6iO 


EJi RON'S   CHAINS. 


Book  of  Mysticism.  These  all  are  said  to  contain  the 
words  of  Buddha  himself.  Besides  these  is  a  work, 
called  the  Tanjur,  or  translation  of  doctrine,  but  has  not 
the  authority  of  the  Kanjur. 

The  art  of  printing  from  engraved  wooden  blocks  has 
been  long  known  to  the  Thibetans.  This  aided  greatly 
in. spreading  the  sacred  books.  There  is  no  Buddhist 
monastery  in  Thibet  which  has  not  a  copy  of  these  works. 
Sometimes  these  are  very  costly;  one  was  prepared  about 
a  quarter  of  a  century  ago,  which  cost  ^10,000,  Four  or 
five  years  ago  a  magnificent  copy  of  Buddha's  works 
was  being  executed  for  a  Mongol  prince,  in  the  Thibetan 
laneuaee.  At  that  time  80  of  the  180  volumes  were 
completed.  The  printing  was  in  letters  of  gold,  and 
the  volumes  are  bound  in  embroidered  silk  with  silver 
clasps. 


FOISM,   THE  BUDDHISM  OF  CHINA.  5i  j 


CHAPTER  XXXIIL 

CHINA CONTINUED. 

And  yonder  by  Nankin,  behold  ! 
The  Tower  of  Porcelain,  strange  and  old. 
Uplifting  to  the  astonished  skies 
Its  nine-fold  painted  balconies, 
With  balustrades  of  twining  leaves, 
And  roofs  of  tile,  beneath  whose  eaves 
Hang  porcelain  bells  that  all  the  time 
Ring  with  a  soft,  melodious  chime  ; 
While  the  whole  fabric  is  ablaze 

With  varied  tints,  all  lused  in  one 
Great  mass  of  color,  like  a  maze 

Of  flowers  illumined  by  the  sun. 

Henry  Wadsworth  Longfellow. 

F^O  (or  Fuh)  is  the  imperfect  rendering  of  Buddha 
into  the  Chinese  language,  as  the  initial  sound 
of  B  is  almost  unknown  in  Chinese.  Buddhist 
Tnissionaries  visited  China  as  early  as  250  B.  C,  and  in 
the  second  year  before  Christ  a  number  of  Buddhist 
sacred  books  were  presented  to  the  Emperor  of  China 
by  an  ambassador  of  the  Tochari  Tartars.  But  it  did 
not  receive  official  recognition  and  did  not  really  take 
root  in  China  until  about  the  year  67  A.  D.  In  the  year 
61  the  Emperor  Ming-ti  saw  in  a  dream  the  image  of  a 
foreign  god  entering  his  palace.  Impressed  with  the 
singular  vision,  he  sent,  at  his  brother's  suggestion,  an 
embassy  to  secure  Buddhist  images,  books  and  teachers. 
An  Indian  Buddhist  priest,  named  Kashiap-Madanga, 
accompanied  the  embassy  on  its  return.     He  translated 


6l2 


ERROR'S  CHAINS. 


some  of  the  Buddhist  books  into  Chinese.  The  religion 
spread  rapidly  after  it  received  the  imperial  favor.  This 
it  did  the  more  readily  as,  with  India-rubber-like  elasticity, 
Buddhism  stretched  itself  to  include  the  greater  part  of 
the  ancient  Chinese  faiths.  Native  Chinese  became  Bud- 
dhist monks 
about  the  year 
335  A.  D.  The 
Emperor  Hiau 
Wu  erected  a 
pagoda  in  his 
palace  at  Nan- 
kin in  381  A. 
D.  The  ancient 
Chinese  histo- 
rians say  that 
about  this  time 
large  monas- 
teries began  to 
be  established 
and  that  nine- 
tenths  of  the 
common  peo- 
ple bowed  to 
the  faith  of  the 

CHINESE  IMAGE  OF  BUDDHA.  ^^^^^  ^^^^  ^ 

o 

of  India.  In  405  A.  D.,  Kumarajiva,  an  Indian  Buddhist,, 
translated  the  principal  Buddhist  books  into  the  Chinese. 
He  was  assisted  by  800  priests.  More  than  300  volumes 
were  thus  prepared. 

At  this  time  the  celebrated  Chinese  traveler,  Fa  Hien, 
was  collecting  sacred  books  and  visiting  sacred  places  in 
India.  He  went  by  land  as  far  as  Ceylon,  and  returned 
from  that  island  by  sea  after  an  absence  of  fifteen  years. 


FOISM    THE  BUDDHISM  OF  CHINA. 


615 


This  journey  furnishes  an  illustration  of  the  intelligent 
earnestness  of  the  Chinese  Buddhists  of  this  period. 
From  the  years  420  A.  D.  to  451,  the  Buddhists  suffered 
opposition  on  the  part  of  the  ruling  Tartar  family  of  the 
Wei  dynasty.  In  the  year  526  A.  D.,  the  famous  Bod- 
hidharma  came  to  Canton.  He  was  received  with  great 
honor  at  the  court  of  the  Emperor  of  Southern  China. 
The  emperor  said  to  him :  "From  my  accession  to  the 
throne,  I   have  been  incessandy  building  temples,  tran- 


A  CHINESE  MANDARIN. 


scribinof  sacred  books,  and  admittincr  new  monks  to  take 
the  vows.  How  much  merit  may  I  be  supposed  to  have 
accumulated?"  The  reply  was  :  "None."  The  emperor: 
"And  why  no  merit?"  The  patriarch:  "All  this  is  but 
the  insignificant  effect  of  an  imperfect  cause  not  complete 
in  itself.  It  is  the  shadow  that  follows  the  substance,  and 
is  without  real  existence."  The  emperor:  "Then  what 
is  true  merit?"  The  patriarch:  "It  consists  In  purity 
and  enlightenment,  depth  and  completeness,  and  in  being 


6i6 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


wrapped  in  thought  while   surrounded  by  vacancy  and 
stillness.    Merit  such  as  this  cannot  be  sought  by  worldly 


means."     The  emperor:  "Which  is  the  most  important 
of  the  holy  doctrines?"     The  patriarch:    "Where  all  is 


PORCELAIN  TOWER  AT  NANKING.  CHINA. 


FOISM,   THE  BUDDHISM  OF  CHINA. 


619 


emptiness,  nothing  can  be  called  'holy'  ishing)!'  The 
emperor:  "Who  is  he  that  thus  replies  to  me  ?"  The 
patriarch:  "I  do  not  know."  The  emperor — says  the 
Buddhist  narrator — still  remained  unenlightened. 

Bodhidharma,  not  being  satisfied  with  the  result  of  his 
interview  with  royalty,  crossed  the  river  Yang-tsze  into 
the  Wei  kingdom  and  remained  at  Lo-yang.  Here  he 
sat  with  his  face  to  a  wall  for  nine  years.  The  people 
called  him  the  "Wall-o^azinof  Brahmin."  When  it  was 
represented  to  the  emperor  of  the  house  of  Liang,  that 
the  great  teacher,  who  possessed  the  precious  heir-loom 
of  Shakya,  the  symbol  of  the  hidden  law  of  Buddha,  was 
lost  to  his  kingdom,  he  repented  and  sent  messengers  to 
invite  him  to  return.  They  failed  in  their  errand.  The 
presence  of  the  Indian  sage  excited  the  more  ardent 
Chinese  Buddhists  to  make  great  efforts  to  conquer  the 
sensations.  Thus  one  of  them,  we  are  told,  said  to  him- 
self: "Formerly,  for  the  sake  of  religion,  men  broke  open 
their  bones  and  extracted  the  marrow,  took  blood  from 
their  arms  to  give  to  the  hungry,  rolled  their  hair  In  the 
mud  or  threw  themselves  down  a  precipice  to  feed  a 
famishing  tiger.  What  can  I  do  ?"  Accordingly  while 
snow  was  falling,  he  exposed  himself  to  it  till  it  had 
risen  above  his  knees,  when  the  patriarch  observing  him, 
asked  him  what  he  hoped  to  gain  by  it.  The  young 
aspirant  to  the  victory  over  self  wept  at  the  question,  and 
said:  "I  only  desire  that  mercy  may  open  a  path  to  save 
the  whole  race  of  mankind."  The  patriarch  replied,  that 
such  an  act  was  not  worthy  of  comparison  with  the  acts 
of  the  Buddhas.  It  required,  he  told  him,  very  litde  virtue 
or  resolution.  His  disciple,  stung  with  the  answer,  took 
a  sharp  knife,  severed  his  arm,  and  placed  it  before  the 
patriarch.  The  latter  expressed  his  high  approval  of  the 
deed,  and  when  after  nine  years'  absence  he  returned  to 


520  El!ROR'S   CHAINS. 

India,  he  appointed  the  disciple  who  had  performed  this 
strange  act  to  succeed  him  as  patriarch  in  China. 

PAGODAS. 

The  word  Pagoda  has  been  appHed  by  French  and 
Portuguese  authors  to  temples  where  images  are  wor- 
shiped and  priests  live,  but  EngHsh  writers  confine  the 
word  to  the  high,  tapering  polygonal  structures  seen  in 
China,  which  are  called  tours  by  the  French.  Etymo- 
logically,  the  word  signifies  "house  of  idols,"  or  "abode 
of  God,"  being  derived  from  the  Persian  words  but,  an 
idol,  and  kadah,  a  house,  a  temple.  Some  of  the  pagodas 
are  built  upon  hill-tops  and  other  places  for  the  purpose 
of  securing  the  prosperity  of  the  locality  by  the  laws  of 
geomancy.     These  latter  are  not  used  for  worshiping  in. 

Some  authors  use  interchangeably  the  words  dagaba 
and  pagoda.  Exactness  w^ith  reference  to  Oriental  terms 
is  very  difficult  to  attain.  The  same  word  is  not  unfre- 
quently  used  among  the  natives  themselves,  to  denote 
different  objects,  and  travelers  frequently  confound  the 
terms  and  use  them  confusedly.  We  aim  at  the  highest 
precision.  Dagabas  are  lofty,  tapering,  cylindrical  build- 
ings, erected  over  a  relic  of  Buddha,  though  sometimes 
pagodas  also  are  used  for  keeping  the  relics  of  Buddha. 
The  pagoda  at  Tung  Cho,  near  Peking,  has  thirteen 
stories,  and  is  150  feet  high;  its  base  is  forty  feet  in 
diameter.  It  stands  near  the  northern  wall  of  the  city, 
and  is  the  most  conspicuous  object  to  be  seen  for  many 
miles  around  the  place  Once  a  year  it  is  the  custom, 
in  some  cities,  to  illuminate  the  pagodas.  A  large 
number  of  paper  lanterns  are  used,  each  having  a  lamp 
or  common  candle  in  it.  The  priests  hang  the  lighted 
lanterns  at  each  corner  of  each  story  of  the  pagoda. 
At    Nanking   there    stood,   a    short    time   since,  a  cele- 


FOISM,   THE  BUDDHISM  OF  CHINA.  521 

brated  pagoda,  called  the  "Porcelain  Tower."  This 
tower  was  of  equal  stories,  the  lower  one  being  120 
feet  around.  It  rested  upon  a  solid  foundadon  of  brick 
work,  ten  feet  high,  up  which  a  flight  of  twelve  steps  led 
to  the  tower.  A  spiral  staircase  led  to  the  top,  which 
was  260  feet  from  the  ground.  The  body  of  the  tower 
was  of  brick ;  this  was  encased  with  tiles  of  glazed  por- 
celain of  green,  red,  yellow  and  white,  and  various  other 
colors.  The  stories  had  projecting  roofs,  which  were 
covered  with  green  tiles,  and  seventy-two  bells  were  sus- 
pended from  each  corner.  These  bells  were  rung  by 
the  wind,  and  sent  their  tinkling  tones  down  among 
the  busy  crowds  below.  In  the  interior  were  hundreds 
of  little  gilded  images.  The  tower  was  commenced  1430 
A.  D.,  and  finished  in  1449  A.  D.  It  was  totally  de- 
stroyed by  the  Tae-Ping  rebels  about  i860. 

CHINESE    BUDDHIST   TEMPLES. 

The  temples  of  the  Buddhists,  in  China,  are  of  varied 
construction.  Very  many  of  them  bear  evidences  of  ne- 
glect and  decay.  In  the  cities  and  their  suburbs,  along 
the  highways,  standing  alone  by  the  roadside  or  on  the 
hill-tops,  are  thousands  of  these  edifices,  called  joss- 
houses  by  foreigners,  in  which  are  idols  of  every  descrip- 
tion, before  which  incense  is  burning.  These  temples 
are  devoted  to  the  worship  of  various  deities,  as  the  god- 
dess of  sailors,  the  god  of  war,  the  gods  of  special  neigh- 
borhoods or  occupations.  Generally  at  the  entrance  of 
the  temple  drums  or  bells  are  placed.  These  are  struck 
by  the  worshipers  as  they  enter,  either  to  call  the  atten- 
tion of  the  gods  to  the  worship  about  to  be  begun,  or  to 
summon  the  attendant  priests.  Elijah  taunted  the  priests 
of  Baal,  when  they  gashed  themselves  before  their  altar 
on  Mount  Carmel,  as  they  shouted  to  the  sun,  as  it  rose 

3S 


622 


EHHOH'S   CHAINS. 


xnajestically  in  the  heavens,  calling  him  to  come  and  con- 
sume their  offerings.  He  suggested  that  perhaps  their 
;god,  Baal,  was  asleep,  and  needed  to  be  awakened  by  a 
noise,  or  that  he  might  be  away  on  a  journey  and  needed 
to  be  recalled.  So  the  Chinese  worshipers  seem  to  deem 
it  necessary  to  arouse  their  gods  to  hear  their  prayers. 
On  entering  the  temple,  the  worshiper  faces  the  idols, 
^hich  are  generally  in  a  sitting  posture,  on  a  platform 


BEATING  ON  A  TEMPLE  DRUM  TO  ATTRACT  THE  GOD. 

about  five  feet  from  the  floor.  Guarding  the  entrance, 
generally,  there  are  two  gigantic  images  standing,  facing 
each  other.  Sometimes,  as  in  the  temple  of  the  Kushan 
Monastery,  there  are  four  statues ;  these  represent  the 
ministers  of  Buddha.  The  first  has  black  eyes,  and  a 
fierce  countenance,  intended  to  strike  awe  to  the  heart; 
he  holds  a  huo^e,  drawn  sword  in  his  hands ;  a  horrible, 
black,  dwarfish  fio-ure  crouches  beneath  his  feet.     The 


TEMPLE  OF  THE  "THREE  PRECIOUS  BUDUHAS,"  AT  SAN  FRANXISCO.  CAL. 


FOISM,   THE  BUDDHISM  OF  CHINA 


625 


second  is  a  merry  god,  playing  on  a  guitar.  The  third 
stands  with  an  unfolded  umbrella.  The  fourth  holds  in 
one  hand  a  struggling  serpent,  in  the  other  a  ball.  Gen- 
erally, there  are  three  images  of  Buddha,  seated  side  by 
side,  in  a  sort  of  pavilion ;  these  are  called  the  "  Three 
Precious  Ones," — Buddha  past,  present  and  to  come. 

The  Chinese  who  have  come  to  America  have  brought 
with  them  their  idolatries,  so  that  heathen  temples  have 
been  opened  for  worship  of  idols,  even  in  this  Christian 
land.  As  most  of  these  Chinese  are  in  San  Francisco, 
the  largest  Buddhist  temple  in  America  is  to  be  found 
there.     The  three  idols  of  Buddha  are  seated  under  a 


THE  "THREE  PRECIOUS  BUDDHAS." 


lacquered  canopy.  Before  them  is  a  sort  of  altar,  on 
which  is  a  vessel  of  ashes,  in  which  the  incense-sticks  are 
placed.  Beside  this  is  a  shallow  dish,  filled  with  pebbles 
and  water,  and  the  narcissus  (daffodil)  plant  growing  in 
it.  In  front  of  the  altar  stands  a  large  Chinese  table,  on 
which  five  bronze  vases  are  placed — the  end  ones  for 
flowers,  the  central  for  the  symbols  of  the  three  Buddhas, 
and  the  others  for  candles.     The  central  figure  of  the 


62  6  EJRROH'S   CHAINS. 

three  idols  represents  the  Buddha,  the  IntelHgence ;  the 
one  to  his  right  is  Dharma,  the  Law,  and  the  other  is 
Sangha,  the  Priesthood.  Beside  the  main  pavilion  is  the 
shrine  of  Kwan-Yin,  the  goddess  of  mercy  and  the  queen 
of  Heaven.  The  idols  in  Chinese  temples  range  from 
six  to  twelve  feet  high,  and  are  mostly  made  of  wood, 
covered  with  gilt.  Sometimes  they  are  of  bronze,  wood 
or  stucco,  gilded,  and  of  gigantic  size.  Crowds  of  sec- 
ondary divinities  are  ranged  round  the  walls  of  the 
temples.  The  worship  in  the  temples  is  very  simple. 
The  worshiper  first  presents  an  offering  of  money  or  rice, 
then  prostrates  himself  on  his  mat,  before  the  idols,  rub- 
bing the  palms  of  his  hands  together,  telling  his  beads 
and  mumbling  his  prayers.  The  people  are  coming  and 
going  all  the  day  long,  for  the  temples  are  never  shut. 

In  Peking  is  a  temple  called  the  "Temple  of  the  Thou- 
sand Lamas."  In  Canton  is  the  "Temple  of  the  Five 
Hundred  Gods."  These  are  the  "Arhans,"  or  scholars 
of  Buddha.  As  a  temple,  it  is  much  like  all  the  other 
Chinese  temples,  but  it  differs  from  all  in  the  images  of 
the  deified  disciples  of  Buddha.  These  are  life-size,  sit- 
ting on  their  heels,  in  Oriental  style,  each  exhibiting  the 
wonderful  act  for  which  he  has  been  deified.  The  eyes 
of  one  are  perpetually  turned  to  Heaven,  and  are  sup- 
posed never  to  have  winked.  Another  held  his  hand 
above  his  head  until  it  has  become  immovable.  Another 
has  held  his  hand  out  so  steadily  and  sofdy  that  a  bird 
has  come  and  built  its  nest  in  it.  Another  became  so 
holy  that  Buddha  opened  his  breast  and  entered  his 
heart.  They  are  made  of  clay,  and  gilded.  Before 
each  is  a  vessel  of  ashes  for  the  joss-sticks,  and  vases 
for  flowers.  This  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  places 
in  Canton,  and  is  one  of  the  temples  most  visited  by 
foreiofners. 


WORSHIP  OF  BUDDHA  IN  THE  TEMPLE  OF  THE  THOUSAND  LAMAS,  PEKING,  CHINA, 
One  of  the  most  splendid  temples,  and  occupied  by  one  of  the  most  devout  assemblages  of  all  heathendom 


TEM 


PLE  OF  KWAN  YIN,  gUl  LN  OV   HEAVLN.  Al  C4NT0N,  CHINA 


FOISM,  THE  BUDDHISM  OF  CHINA.  g^j- 

THE    WORSHIP    OF    KWAN-YIN. 

Kwan-Yin,  the  goddess  of  mercy,  is  worshiped  with 
great  pomp  on  the  nineteenth  day  of  the  second  month, 
which  is  the  anniversary  of  her  birth,  and  also  on  the 
anniversaries  of  her  death  and  canonization.  The  story 
of  the  career  of  this  canonized  Buddhist  nun  is  full  of 
marvels,  and  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  enter  her  temples 
without  finding  women  and  children  in  them.  On  her 
anniversaries,  women  resort  to  them  in  large  numbers, 
and  light  incense-sticks  at  the  sacred  lamp  above  the  altar. 
They  carry  the  burning  incense  to  their  homes,  as  the 
smoke  is  supposed  to  possess  a  purifying  effect.  Other 
votaries,  who  have  sick  relatives,  expose  tea  to  the  smoke, 
which  rises  in  clouds  from  the  incense  burning  on  the 
altar.  On  their  return  home  they  administer  the  tea  to 
the  sick.  Kwan-Yin  is  also  much  worshiped  during  the 
Tsing-Ming,  or  Worshiping  of  Graves,  as  she  is  supposed 
to  extend  her  protecting  care  over  the  souls  of  departed 
ones.  Paper  representations  of  clothes,  houses,  servants 
and  sedan  chairs,  fashioned  of  the  same  material,  are  at 
such  a  season  burnt  in  front  of  her  altars.  The  goddess 
is  supposed  to  convey  these  offerings  to  the  departed 
spirits  for  whom  they  are  intended.  The  ceremony  is 
usually  performed  at  midnight.  At  this  season,  also,, 
ladies  resort  to  her  temples  to  pray  for  afflicted  husbands 
or  children.  The  form  of  worship  observed  on  such 
occasions  is  conducted  by  Buddhist  priests.  Two  tables 
are  placed,  about  six  feet  apart,  in  front  of  the  idol,  and 
fruits  and  flowers  are  arranged  upon  them  as  offerings. 
The  ladies  sit  or  kneel  near  the  tables,  and  the  priests 
march  round  them  to  slow  music.  The  music  quickens,, 
and  at  last  the  priests  are  found  careering  round  the 
tables.     This  absurd  service  is  brought  to  a  close  by  the 


632 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


priests  rushing  wildly  toward  the  ladies,  and  in  most  ex- 
travaeant  terms  tenderincr  them  their  congratulations. 


The  temples  in  honor  of  the  Goddess  of  Mercy 
very  numerous  throughout  the  empire.     In  the  most 


are 
im- 


FOISM,  THE  BUDDHISM  OF  CHINA. 


^Z7 


portant  of  these,  at  Canton,  were  at  one  time  several 
ornaments  of  great  value,  which  had  been  presented  to 
the  goddess  by  the  Emperor  Taou-kwang,  in  return  for 
blessing^s  which  she  was  supposed  to  have  conferred  on 
the  southern  portion  of  the  empire.  One  of  these  was  a 
jade-stone  ornament  of  great  value,  which  was  presented 
in  acknowledgment  of  a  victory  which  the  goddess  was 
supposed  to  have  given  to  the  Chinese  troops  over  the 
British  barbarians,  as  they  are  called,  in  1841. 

THE    WORSHIP    OF   KUM-FA. 

Another  goddess  who  is  popular  with  Chinese  wives  is 
Kum-Fa,  the  tutelary  goddess  of  women  and  children. 
A  native  of  Canton,  she  flourished  during  the  reign  of 
Ching-hwa,  who  ascended  the  throne  A.  D.  1465.  When 
a  girl  of  tender  years,  she  was  a  constant  and  regular 
visitor  to  all  the  temples  in  her  immediate  neighborhood. 
She  is  said  to  have  had  the  power  of  communing  with 
the  spirits  of  the  departed.  Becoming  at  length  tired  of 
the  world,  she  committed  suicide  by  drowning.  In  course 
of  time,  her  body  rose  to  the  surface  of  the  water,  and 
when  it  was  taken  out  the  air  became  impregnated  with 
sweet-smelling  odors.  It  was  placed  in  a  coffin,  and  a 
sandal-wood  statue  or  idol  of  Kum-Fa  rose  apparently 
from  the  bed  of  the  river,  and  remained  stationary.  A 
temple  was  erected  for  the  image,  but  an  iconoclast  de- 
liberately destroyed  it  by  fire,  and  it  is  now  replaced  by 
a  clay  figure.  Her  principal  temple  stands  on  the  south 
side  of  the  river  at  Canton.  Her  votaries  are  mostly  wives 
who  desire  to  become  mothers.  The  list  of  the  duties 
which  her  ministering  attendants  divide  among  them  is 
a  complete  summary  of  the  art  of  rearing  children.  One 
is  considered  to  be  the  guardian  of  children  suffering 
from  small-pox.     The  second  presides  over  the  ablutions 


6^,8 


J^A'J^OA'S   CHAINS. 


of  infants.  The  third  superintends  the  feeding  of  new- 
born babes  and  young-  children.  The  fourth  is  the  espe- 
cial patroness  of  male  infants.  The  fifth  attends  to  the 
careful  preparation  of  infants'  food.  The  sixth  watches 
over  women  laboring  with  child.  It  is  in  the  power  of 
the  seventh  to  bestow  upon  women  who  have  conceived, 
male  or  female  children,  in  answer  to  their  prayers.  The 
eighth  can  bless  women  with  male  offspring.  The  ninth 
makes  children  merry  and  joyful.     The  tenth  superin- 


THE  GODDESS  MA-CHU  AND  HER  ASSISTANTS. 

tends  the  cutting  of  the  umbilical  cord.  The  eleventh 
causes  women  to  conceive.  .  It  is  the  privilege  of  the 
twelfth  to  make  children  smile.  The  thirteenth  has  the 
care  of  infants  until  they  are  able  to  walk.  The  four- 
teenth teaches  them  to  do  so.  It  is  the  calling  of  the 
fifteenth  to  teach  them  how  to  suck.  The  sixteenth 
watches  over  unborn  babes.  On  the  seventeenth,  it  de- 
volves to  see  that  their  bodies  are,  immediately  before 
birth,  free  from  sores  or  ulcers.     The  eighteenth  is  re- 


THIRTEEN-STORIED  PAGODA  AT  TUNG-CHO,  CHINA. 


FOISM,  THE  BUDDHISM  OF  CHINA. 


641 


garded  as  the  special  patroness  of  female  infants.  To 
impart  strength  to  infants  is  the  duty  of  the  nineteenth ; 
and  the  twentieth  is  named  Fo-shee-fa-fu-yan. 

IDOLS. 

In  some  of  the  temples  the  idols  are  very  numerous, 

and  in  Yang-chow  there  is  one  in  which  there  are  said  to 

be  no  fewer  than  10,000.      The  idols, 

which  are  very  diminutive,  are  con- 
tained in  one  large  hall,  and  in  their 

fanciful,    but     orderly    arrangement, 

present  a  very  singular  appearance. 

In  the    centre  of  the   hall    stands  a 

pavilion   of  wood,   most   elaborately 

carved,  under  which  is  placed  a  large 

idol  of  Buddha.     The  pavilion,  within 

and  without,  is  literally  studded  with 

small    idols,  which  are  different  rep- 
resentations of  the  same  deity.     On 

each  of  the  four  sides  of  the  hall  are 

small   brackets,    supporting    idols    of 

Buddha ;   and   a  still  larger  number 

of  these   are    placed   on  the    beams 

and  pillars  of  the  vaulted  roof, 
full-sized  figures  of  the  sleeping  ' 
Buddha.  At  Peking  and  Can- 
ton there  are  halls  precisely 
similar.  The  hall  of  10,000 
idols,  at  Canton,  is,  like  the 
monastery  of  which  it  forms  a 
part,  in  a  most  ruinous  state, 
and  the  majority  of  the  idols  with 
which  its  walls  were  at  one  time   Chinese  idol. 

adorned  have  disappeared  in  ways  not  now  understood. 

39 


CHINESE  IDOL. 


Two  are 


CHINESE  IDOL, 


642 


i:£/i:OA''S   CHAINS. 


In  the  prefecture  of  Shu-hing,  where  marble  quarries 
abound,  idols  are  in  many  cases  made  of  that  material. 
At  Pun-new-chan,  a  market-town  on  the  banks  of  the 
Grand  Canal,  one  sees  in  a  ruined  monastery  three  large 
iron  idols,  representing  the  Past,  Present  and  Future 
Buddhas.  There  are  in  certain  temples  stone,  earthen- 
ware and  porcelain  figures.  The  three  large  idols  in  the 
Tai-fan  monastery,  at  Canton,  are  said  to  be  made  of 
copper,  and  many  of  the  small  idols  of  Buddha  are  also 
made  of  the  same  material.  Buddha  is  represented  in  a 
variety  of  postures,  and  some  of  the  figures  have  smiling 
countenances,  whilst  others  appear  decidedly  sorrowful. 


THE    TEMPLE    OF    HORRORS. 


Near  the  Temple  of  the  Five  Hundred  Gods  is  the 
"  Temple  of  Horrors,"  so  called  by  foreigners,  where  are 


CHINESE  BUDDHIST'S  IDEA  OF  HELL. 


ten  cells,  in  which  are  exhibited  the  various  pains  of  the 
Buddhist  purgatory.  The  actual  scenes  are  exhibited  in 
clay  figures,  about  two-thirds  life-size.  The  first  cell, 
about  ten  feet  square,  which  is  the  measurement  of  each 


FOISM,   THE  BUDDHISM  OF  CHINA.  g^r 

of  them,  is  the  hall  of  judgment,  where  the  poor  wretches 
are  tried.  Then  comes  one  chamber  where  a  man  is 
receiving  from  the  demons  a  terrible  whipping,  being 
stretched  on  the  ground  face  downward,  by  two  men, 
while  a  third  is  beating  him  with  a  paddle.  The  next 
cell  exhibits  a  criminal  fastened  in  a  frame,  head  down- 
ward, and  being  sawn  in  two,  lengthwise.  In  the  next, 
another  is  suffering  the  tortures  of  slow  burning;  an- 
other is  supposed  to  be  sitting  under  a  red-hot  bell.  In 
the  next  there  are  cages,  and  some  chained  with  a  Chi- 
nese cangue  ;  in  another  they  are  being  beheaded  ;  and, 
in  another,  they  are  ground  in  a  mill  and  pounded  in  a 
mortar.  In  the  next  they  are  boiling  a  poor  fellow  in  oil ; 
and,  in  the  last,  some  poor  wretches,  for  having  been  guilty 
of  eating  beef,  are  being  themselves  slowly  transformed 
into  oxen.  Several  figures  in  this  cell  present  the  various 
steps  of  this  transformation.  In  all  these  cells  numerous 
figures  of  demons  are  looking  on  with  expressions  of 
diabolical  satisfaction,  and,  strange  to  say,  around  the 
sides  of  each  of  the  cells  are  ranged  in  scenic  manner 
mountain  and  hillside  retreats,  on  which  are  seen  smaller 
figures  of  the  good  and  saved,  seeming  to  take  an  equal 
delight  in  witnessing  the  pains  of  the  unhappy  ones  who 
have  missed  of  paradise.  Notwithstanding  all  these  hor- 
rors, booths  are  rented  out  before  all  these  cells,  and  a 
lively  traffic  is  carried  on,  and  the  priests  themselves 
drive  a  large  trade  In  selling  fans,  sacrificial  money,  etc., 
which  are  to  be  burned  for  the  use  of  these  suffering 
wretches. 

But  a  Buddhist  may  be  sent  by  the  judges  to  purga- 
tory without  being  obliged  to  remain  there.  The  living 
relations,  if  they  but  pay  enough  to  the  priests,  and  beg 
often  and  long  enough  to  persuade  the  priests  to  pray  to 
Kwan-YIn,  the  goddess  of  mercy,  to  deliver  their  dead 


646 


ERKOH'S   CHAINS. 


friends  from  purgatory,  it  will  be  accomplished,  so  say  the 
priests,  by  means  of  the  sacred  lotus-flowers.  The  clay 
images  in  many  of  the  "Temples  of  Horrors"  are  some- 
times made  so  as  to  move  their  limbs  and  jaws,  when  a 
string  is  pulled  by  some  unseen  person.  Occasionally 
the  people  meet  in  great  crowds  for  the  purpose  of  wor- 
shiping Kwan-Yin,  and  beseeching  her  to  deliver  from 
the  ten  departments  of  hell  those  who  have  no  friends  to 
intercede  for  them ;  then  a  wholesale  delivery  is  sup- 
posed to  take  place.  The  priests  are  greatly  enriched  at 
such  seasons,  and  therefore  these  occasions  are  numerous. 

MONASTERIES. 

The  monasteries  are  often  embosomed  among  the  hills, 
and  surrounded  by  groves  of  bamboo  and  other  trees. 
These  are  sometimes  in  the  neighborhood  of  crowded 
cities ;  at  other  times,  away  in  the  lonely  wilds  of  the 
mountains.  They  are  generally  used  as  temples,  as  well 
as  dwellings  for  the  priests.  The  monasteries  have 
kitchens,  eating-rooms,  sleeping  apartments  and  libraries. 
Most  of  the  larger  monasteries  own  land,  or  other  prop- 
erty, from  which  annual  rent,  payable  in  crops  or  money, 
is  received.  In  connection  with  some  of  these  monas- 
teries are  large  bells.  These  have  no  tongues,  but  are 
struck  on  the  outside  by  a  ponderous  swinging  beam. 
In  some  few  cases  the  sound  of  the  bell  is  not  suffered  to 
cease ;  relays  of  priests  keep  it  always  ringing.  In  the 
monasteries  generally,  morning  worship  is  held  before 
daylight,  and  evening  worship  about  five  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon.  The  service  lasts  from  an  hour  to  an  hour 
and  a  half  All  the  priests  join  in  it.  The  service  con- 
sists, principally,  of  a  chant  or  recitation  of  passages 
from  the  Buddhist  sacred  books,  the  Sanskrit  prayers  in 
which  have  been   transliterated  in   Chinese  characters. 


FOISM,  THE  BUDDHISM  OF  CHINA.  gj^g 

This  is  accompanied,  not  by  the  music  of  organs,  but  by 
one  or  two  of  the  priests  beating  the  time  on  a  hollow 
"  wooden  fish."  The  chant  is  impressive,  though  monoto- 
nous. Often  they  move  in  slow  processions  about  the 
room,  chanting  as  they  march,  and  bowing  when  they 
pass  and  re-pass  the  image  of  Buddha. 

In  the  monasteries  great  attention  is  paid  to  comfort. 
There  are  rooms  for  the  reception  of  officers,  for  the 
common  people,  study  rooms  and  the  room  for  daily 
worship ;  in  addition,  a  place  is  sometimes  provided  for 
keeping  living  animals.  These  are  not  kept  for  food,  but 
are  donated  by  devotees  who  send  them  there.  It  is  a 
part  of  the  Buddhist  faith  not  to  kill  any  living  creature, 
because,  if  one  kills  or  injures  a  horse,  or  any  other  ani- 
mal, he  may  be  inflicting  suf- 
fering on  his  mother,  or  some 
other  friend.  For  the  same 
reason,  the  Buddhist  priests  of 
China  sometimes  take  care  of 
sick  and  wounded  animals. 
No  animal  Is  put  to  death,  but 
permitted  to  die  a  natural 
death,  and  then  is  buried. 
When  you  tell  the  priests  that 
the  air,  water,  vegetables  or 
grain  they  eat  are  full  of  tiny, 
living  animals,  and  when  you 
try  to  show  them  by  the  help 
of  the  microscope,  they  refuse     ^^^^^t  at  a  praying-wheel. 

to  believe  that  they  are  really  animals  having  organic 
life.  The  Chinese  dislike  the  Buddhist  priests,  because 
they  disown  the  family  relation,  and  yet  they  patronize 
them  and  follow  their  teachings  with  an  unquestioning 
faith  and  an  implicit  obedience. 


650 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


A   MONKS    MONUMENT. 


Within  the  grounds  of  an  old  Buddhist  temple,  about 
half  a  mile  from  Peking,  is  a  magnificent  marble  monu- 
ment.    A  hundred  years  ago,  or  more,  the  Teshu  Lama 

of  Thibet,  a  man 


of  great  sancti- 
ty, died.  He  died 
of  the  small-pox. 
While  his  body 
was  embalmed 
and  sent  back 
to  Thibet,  over 
his  clothinof  was 
built  this  ofreat 
mausoleum.  It 
is  built  of  beau- 
tiful marble,  and 
from  the  base 
of  the  terrace 
to  the  larore  orilt 
ball  on  the  top 
is  about  ninety 
feet  in  height. 
Scenes  from  the 
life  of  this  La- 
ma, distinguish- 
ed for  his  piety 
and  devotion, 

CHINESE  BONZE,  OR  PRIEST.  ^^^       SCulptured 

in  bas-relief  ox\  the  monument.  These  include  his  birth, 
his  conversion  to  the  Buddhist  religion,  his  teaching  his 
disciples  and  his  death.  The  carving  is  executed  by  the 
Chinese,  with  a  high  degree  of  artistic  taste  and  skill. 


FOISM,  THE  BUDDHISM  OF  CHINA.  ^rj 

On  the  top  of  the  monument  is  a  rteat  marble  urn,  and  on 
this  a  lotus-flower  and  a  gilded  marble  globe.  Not  only 
Chinese  Buddhists,  but  even  the  Thibetans,  gready  ven- 
erate this  monument.  Often  they  may  be  seen  measur- 
ing their  length  on  the  ground,  and  in  this  way  proceed- 
ing entirely  around  the  monument. 

CHINESE    BUDDHIST    BONZES. 

The  priests  often  go  in  companies  of  thirty  and  forty, 
dressed  in  loose,  yellow  robes  of  cotton  or  silk,  with  a 
wide  collar,  with  beads  around  their  necks,  begging  for 
the  support  of  their  monasteries.  The  people  will  give 
them  rice,  or  oil,  or,  perhaps,  "  cash,"  which  is  the  name 
of  the  common  round  Chinese  coin,  having  a  square  hole 
in  the  centre.  The  priests  shave  the  hair  from  their  heads, 
and  often  spots  on  their  heads  are  burnt  with  coals  of  fire 
so  that  the  hair  will  never  grow  again  ;  this  is  a  badge 
of  their  profession.  They  never  marry,  and  they  leave 
their  homes  forever.  They  never  even  sleep  in  dwelling- 
houses  with  other  people.  They  make  no  friendships, 
but  shut  themselves  off  from  the  rest  of  mankind.  They 
profess  to  have  given  up  the  world  and  all  its  pleasures. 
They  pass  their,  time  in  chanting  from  the  Buddhist 
sacred  books.  They  are  employed  in  private  families  to 
pray  for  the  sick  and  dying,  or  for  the  dead,  for  which 
they  are  paid.  The  ranks  of  the  priests  are  recruited  by 
buying  boys  who  are  trained  for  the  priesthood.  Often, 
mandarins  tired  of  business,  or  shopkeepers  unsuccessful 
in  trade,  or  scholars  falling  to  pass  the  examinations,  will 
enter  the  monasteries  and  become  monks,  or,  perhaps, 
priests.  There  are  often  priests  who  retire  from  the 
world  altogether,  for  a  time ;  who  receive  their  food 
through  a  hole  in  the  wall  of  their  cells.  These  profess 
to  give  themselves  entirely  and  only  to  meditation,  and 


652 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


SO  hope  to  become  Buddhas  when  they  die.  The  bodies 
of  the  priests  are  usually  burned  with  great  ceremony 
and  are  not  buried  as  is  the  custom  prevalent  with  us. 

BUDDHIST   DEVOTEES. 

Many  .Buddhist  devotees  seek  to  subdue  the  flesh  by 
inflicting  painful  severities  on  their  bodies.  One  will 
meet,  frequently,  a  company  of  priests,  one  of  whom  will 
pull  up  the  sleeve  of  his  coat  and  uncovering  an  arm 
without  a  hand,  beg  for  alms,  assuring  you  that  he  had, 
by  a  slow  process,  burned  his  hand  to  the  stump,  as  an 
atonement  for  his  sins  and  as  a  recommendation  for  his 
promotion  at  some  future  time  to  the  state  of  Buddha- 
hood.  At  Peking  a  priest  will  often  be  seen  sitting  in  a 
sedan  chair,  the  interior  of  which  is  thickly  studded 
with  sharp  nails  and  spikes,  so  that  he  can  neither  move 
nor  sleep.  He  informs  those  who  stand  round  his  peni- 
tential chair  that  the  nails  acquire  a  heavenly  virtue  in 
proportion  to  the  misery  which  they  cause  him,  and 
that  he  is  prepared  to  sell  them  for  a  fair  price  each, 
as  antidotes  aofainst  evil.  He  assures  them  that  he  had 
resolved  to  remain  in  the  sedan  chair  until  every  nail 
has  been  sold. 

At  Tien-tsin  there  formerly  lived  a  priest  who  had 
passed  through  his  cheek  a  sharp  skewer,  to  the  end  of 
which  he  had  attached  a  chain.  To  relieve  him  of  its 
weight,  some  little  boys  held  up  the  chain — an  act  which 
was,  of  course,  regarded  as  very  meritorious.  Sometimes 
these  devotees  perform  pilgrimages  of  penance  to  distant 
shrines,  traveling  hundreds  of  miles  on  foot.  It  is  re- 
markable that  the  Buddhists  should  subject  themselves 
to  such  self-torture,  as  Buddha  himself,  on  one  occasion, 
preached  a  most  powerful  sermon  against  self-torture 
and  all  such  follies. 


FOISM,   THE  BUDDHISM  OF  CHINA. 


653 


CEREMONY    OF   THE    WATER-LAMPS. 

Doolittle,  in  his  work  on  China,  says :  Frequently  a 
large  number  of  small  and  cheap  earthen  vessels,  shaped 
somewhat  like  bowls,  is  provided.  A  preparation  of  pitch 
and  some  other  inflammable  material,  or  some  oil,  or  a 
candle,  is  put  in  each.  Around  the  top  of  the  outside  of 
each  are  fastened  paper  imitations  of  lotus-flowers  or  some 
other  pretty  plant.  Early  in  the  evening-,  these  vessels 
are  carried  in  a  procession  of  priests  from  the  place 
where  the  principal  ceremonies  are  performed  to  the 


LETTING  GO  THE  WATER-LAMPS. 


edge  of  the  nearest  running  water,  where,  the  pitch  or 
oil  having  been  lighted,  the  vessels  are  placed  carefully 
on  the  water  and  allowed  to  float  away.  The  object  of 
this  is  explained  to  be,  to  afford  lights  for  the  spirits  that 
come  or  go  by  water.  The  priests  coming  to  the  water 
and  going  from  it,  on  this  occasion  chant  their  classics, 
and  clap  their  cymbals  together,  walking  along  slowly 
and  in  single  file.  This  ceremony  is  called  lettmg  go  the 
water-lamps. 


654 


EjRroh's  chains. 


THE    DO-NOTHING    SECT   OF    REFORMED    BUDDHISTS. 


For  about  two  hundred  years  there  has  existed  a  sect 
in  China  which  bears  quite  a  close  resemblance  to  Bud- 
dhism, and  yet  differs  widely  from  this  faith  in  that  it 
opposes  idolatry.  They  are  called  the  Wu-Wei-Kiau,  or 
"The  Do-nothing  Sect."  Their  central  doctrine  seems  to 
be  that  religion  does  not  consist  in  outward  ordinances 
and  ceremonies,  but  in  quiet  meditation.  They  have 
temples  but  no  idols.  '  In  a  discussion  with  some  priests, 
who  had  brought  a  hus^e  brass  Buddha  to  the  court  of 
the  king,  Lo-tsu,  the  founder  of  this  sect,  said:  "A  brazen 
Buddha  melts,  and  a  wooden  Buddha  burns,  when  ex- 
posed to  fire.  An  earthen  Buddha  cannot  save  itself 
from  water.  It  cannot  save  itself,  then  how  can  it  save 
me  ?  In  every  particle  of  dust  there  is  a  kingdom  ruled 
by  Buddha.  In  every  temple  the  king  of  the  law  resides. 
The  mountains,  the  rivers,  and  the  great  earth  form  Bud- 
dha's image.     Why,  then,  carve  or  mould  an  image  ?" 

This  sect  worships,  in  addition  to  Buddha,  a  goddess 
called  the  Kin-mu,  or  "golden  mother."  She  is  believed 
to  protect  from  dangers,  from  sickness  and  from  the  mis- 
eries of  the  unseen  world.    This  sect  eat  only  vegetables. 

BOOLDO,    THE    BUDDHISM    OF    THE    COREANS. 

Corea  is  a  country  lying  between  China  and  Japan. 
Buddhism  entered  it  in  372  A.  D.,  from  China.  The 
Coreans  have  two  names  for  God ;  one,  a  native  name, 
Hannonim,  meaning  the  Heavenly  One;  the  other,  the 
Chinese  name,  Shang-te.  Buddhism  is  called  Booldo  in 
Corea.  The  priests  or  monks,  called  Joong,  are  very 
numerous  ;  they  are  said  to  form  one-fourth  of  the  whole 
male  population.  Their  principal  images  are  of  brass, 
the  secondary  ones  of  carved  stone  ;  they  have  none  of 


FOISM,   THE  BUDDHISM  OF  CHINA. 


655 


clay.  The  priests  dress  in  black  or  gray,  while  the  rest 
of  the  people  generally  dress  in  white.  They  use  rosa- 
ries. Confucius  is  worshiped  twice  a  year  by  the  magis- 
trate of  each  city  in  Corea.  There  are  two  very  popular 
orods — belonofinof  to  the  old  relis^ion  that  existed  in  Corea 
before  Buddhism  was  introduced — they  are  the  god  of 
the  mountains  and  the  god  of  rain.  The  Buddhists  have 
four  sects  in  Corea.  In  their  doctrines  and  ofeneral 
worship  there  is  but  little  difference  between  the  Corean 
and  the  Chinese  Buddhists.  These  few  notices  of  Bud- 
dhism in  Corea  must  be  taken  with  caution,  for  our  infor- 
mation respecting  that  secluded  country  is  too  imperfect 
to  enable  us  lo  describe  it  fully  or  with  confidence. 


656 


ERROR'S  CHAINS. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

JAPANESE    BUDDHISM. 

Buddhism,  that  worship  without  God,  that  religion  of  nothingness, 
invented  by  despair,  is  superior,  in  many  respects,  to  the  religion 
which  it  has  displaced  in  Japan. — Aime  Humbert. 

My  mountain  dwelling's  roof  of  thatch 
Is  with  Yahemugura  moss  o'ergrown, 
Of  passer-by  no  glimpse  I  catch, 
I  dwell  uncheered  and  alone. 
The  Priest's  Lament  for  the  Deserted  Temple  (translated  from 
the  Japanese). 

BUDDHISM  was  introduced  into  Japan  in  552  A.  D. 
By  this  time,  the  original  Buddhism  of  India  had 
been  very  greatly  altered.  "  It  now  had  a  vast 
and  complicated  ecclesiastical  and  monastic  machinery, 
a  geographical  and  sensuous  paradise,  definitely-located 
hells  and  purgatories,  populated  with  a  hierarchy  of  titled 
demons.  Of  these,  the  priests  kept  the  keys,  regulated 
the  thermometers,  and  timed  or  graded  the  torture  or 
bliss."  The  Chinese  had  very  greatly  modified  the  Bud- 
dhism of  India,  and  the  Coreans  had  still  further  changed 
the  Buddhism  which  they  had  received  from  China ;  and 
now,  Japan,  in  her  turn,  modifies  the  religion  she  received 
from  Corea.  The  way  was  prepared  for  the  coming  of 
Buddhism  to  Japan.  Shintoism  had  become  an  empty, 
cold  system  of  political  management,  used  as  a  support 
of  the  government.  It  had  lost  its  hold  on  the  affections 
of  the  people,  and  they  were  heart-hungry  for  just  such 
a  warm  religious  system  as  Buddhism,  had  to  offer.     In 


JAPANESE  BUDDHISM.  ^r- 

the  year  552,  King  Petsi,  of  Corea,  sent  to  Kin-Mei,  the 
thirteenth  Mikado  of  Japan,  a  statue  of  Gautama,  together 
with  books,  banners,  a  baldaquin  and  other  objects  of 
worship.  Buddha  had  said:  "  My  doctrine  shall  extend 
to  the  East ;"  and  King  Petsi  desired  to  aid  in  fulfilling 
that  prophecy.  The  mikado  suffered  the  statue  to  re- 
main ;  a  chapel  was  built  for  it,  and  worship  offered  by  a 
few  of  the  members  of  the  mikado's  court.  An  epidemic 
broke  out;  it  was  declared  that  the  new  imagfe  was  the 
cause  of  it,  and  the  chapel  was  thereupon  burned  and  the 
statue  cast  into  the  river. 

In  the  reign  of  the  next  mikado,  Bidasu,  a  Buddhist 
bonze  (priest)  came  over  from  Corea.  He  had  been 
warned  of  the  difficulties  before  him,  but  surmounted 
them  by  a  pleasant  device.  When  he  was  presented  to 
the  mikado  at  his  court,  he  saw  his  little  grandson,  a  boy 
of  six  years  old,  at  whose  birth  there  had  been  some  ex- 
traordinary signs.  He  prostrated  himself  at  the  child's 
feet,  and  worshiped  him,  declaring  that  he  recognized  in 
him  the  incarnation  of  one  of  Buddha's  disciples,  the  new 
patron  of  the  empire.  The  mikado  left  the  child  in  the 
care  of  the  Corean  priest,  to  be  educated  by  him.  As 
might  be  expected,  the  child  became  the  first  high-priest. 
of  Buddhism.  Through  his  efforts,  being  so  closely  related 
to  the  Emperor,  the  religion  spread  with  greater  rapidity,, 
and  soon  became  the  dominant  religion  of  the  land. 

BODHIDHARMA   IN   JAPAN. 

In  Japan,  as  in  India,  there  have  been  many  ascetics, 

noted  for  their  wonderful  penances.     One  of  the  first  and 

most  famous  of  these  is  called  Bodhidharma,  who  founded 

the  Shin-Shin  sect  of  Buddhists.     He  came  from  Corea, 

In  613  A.  D.,  according  to  the  legend,  floating  upon  a. 

large  lotus-leaf.    Kobo  Daishi,  the  inventor  of  the  Japa* 
40 


658 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


nese  syllabary  or  alphabet,  was  a  celebrated  priest,  born 
in  774  A.  D.  Fodaishi  was  a  remarkable  inventive 
genius,  who  came  from  China.  The  priests  had  been 
required  to  read  the  "  wheel  of  the  law,"  as  it  was  called, 
with  great  regularity.  He  constructed  a  movable  desk, 
and  spread  on  it  the  rolls  of  the  sacred  books.  He 
allowed  his  disciples,  instead  of  reading  all  the  books 
throuorh — which  would  have  been  a  most  tiresome  task 
— to  give  this  desk  a  half  or  three-quarters  of  a  turn, 
counting  it  as  if  they  had  read  the  books  which  passed 
before  them.  He  and  great  priests  of  later  days  did 
much  to  mix  the  two  religions,  Buddhism  and  Shintoism 
together,  and  thus  secure  its  readier  acceptance.  The 
thirteenth  century  was  the  time  when  Buddhism  attained 
the  height  of  its  prosperity.  At  this  time,  many  of  the 
greatest  temples  were  built,  and  most  of  the  sects  founded. . 
Of  these  sects,  there  are  seven  chief  and  some  twenty 
minor  ones,  illustrating  the  utmost  diversity. 

THE    SUN-CHILD    AND    HIS    MIRACULOUS    DELIVERANCE. 

In  1222,  a  child  was  born,  who  was  named  Nichiren, 
because  his  mother  dreamed  that  the  sun  (nichi,  in  Jap- 
anese) had  entered  her.  While  still  a  child,  he  was  in- 
trusted to  the  care  of  a  priest.  As  he  grew  up,  he  turned 
away  from  all  the  accepted  teachings,  and  resolved  to 
found  a  new  and  purer  sect.  He  changed  the  common 
Japanese  prayer  from  "Save  us!  O  Eternal  Buddha!" 
to  "Glory  to  the  salvation -bringing  book  of  the  law!" 
This  prayer  is  inscribed  in  the  temples  of  this  sect,  upon 
their  tomb-stones  and  shrines,  and  was  even  engraven 
on  the  shields  of  their  warriors.  Nichiren  was  a  travel- 
ing preacher,  and  he  founded  many  temples.  He  bitterly 
opposed  all  other  Buddhists,  and  made  many  bitter  ene- 
mies.    The  story  is  thus  told  by  Griffis :  "  On  a  certain 


MIRACULOUS  DELIVERANCE  OF  A  BONZE. 


JAPANESE  BUDDHISM. 


66i 


day,  he  was  taken  out  to  a  village  on  the  strand  of  the 
bay,  beyond  Kamakura,  and  in  front  of  the  lovely  island 
'  of  Enoshima.  This  village  is  called  Koshigoye.  At 
this  time,  Nichiren  was  forty-three  years  old.  Kneeling 
down  upon  the  strand,  the  saintly  bonze  calmly  uttered 
his  prayers,  and  repeated  'Namu  mio  ho  ren  ge  kio '  upon 
his  rosary.  The  swordman  lifted  his  blade  and,  with  all 
his  might,  made  the  downward  stroke.  Suddenly  a  flood 
of  blinding  light 
burst  from  the  sky, 
and  smote  both  the 
executioner  and 
the  official  inspec- 
tor deputed  to  wit- 
ness the  severed 
head.  The  sword- 
"blade  was  broken 
in  pieces,  while  the 
holy  man  was  un- 
harmed. At  the 
same  moment,  Ho- 
jo,  the  Lord  of 
Kamakura,  was 
s'tartled  at  his  rev- 
els in  the  palace 
by  the  sound  of  rattling  thunder  and  the  flash  of  lightning, 
though  there  was  not  a  cloud  in  the  sky.  Dazed  by  the 
awful  signs  of  Heaven's  displeasure,  Hojo  Tokoyori, 
divining  that  it  was  on  account  of  the  holy  victim,  in- 
stantly dispatched  a  fleet  messenger  to  stay  the  execu- 
tioner's hand,  and  reprieve  the  victim.  Simultaneously, 
the  official  inspector,  at  the  still  unstained  blood-pit,  sent 
a  courier  to  beg  reprieve  for  the  saint  whom  the  sword 
could  not  touch.     The  two  men,  coming  from  opposite 


SHRINE  OF  KWANON. 


562  ERROR'S   CHAINS 

directions,  met  at  the  small  stream  which  the  tourist  still 
crosses  on  the  way  from  Kamakura  to  Enoshima,  and  it 
was  thereafter  called  Yukiai  (meeting  on  the  way)  River,  a 
name  which  it  retains  to  this  day.  Through  the  pitiful 
clemency  and  intercession  of  Hojo  Tokimuni,  son  of  the 
Lord  of  Kamakura,  Nichiren  was  sent  to  Sado  Island. 
He  was  afterward  released  by  his  benefactor,  in  a  gen- 
eral amnesty.  Nichiren  founded  his  sect  at  Kioto,  and  it 
greatly  flourished  under  the  care  of  his  disciple,  his  rev- 
erence, Nichizo.  After  a  busy  and  holy  life,  the  great 
saint  died  at  Ikegami,  a  little  to  the  north-west  of  the 
Kawasaki  Railroad  station,  between  Yokohama  and  To 
kio,  where  the  scream  of  the  locomotive  and  the  rumble 
of  the  railway  car  are  but  faintly  heard  in  the  solemn 
shades.  There  are  to  be  seen  gorgeous  temples,  pagodas, 
shrines,  magnificent  groves  and  cemeteries.  The  dying 
presence  of  Nichiren  has  lent  this  place  peculiar  sanctity; 
but  his  bones  rest  on  Mount  Minobu,  in  the  province  of 
Kai,  where  was  one  of  his  homes  when  in  the  flesh." 

The  disciples  of  Nichiren  drank  in  their  master's 
spirit,  and  they  long  continued  the  most  powerful  sect  of 
the  Buddhists  in  Japan.  The  Shin  sect,  which  was 
brought  to  great  strength  by  Shinran  in  1262  A.  D.,  dis- 
carded fasting,  penances,  pilgrimages,  separation  from 
society,  nunneries  and  monasteries,  and  taught  salvation 
by  faith  in  Buddha,  and  not  by  works.  They  use  the 
sacred  Buddhist  books  in  a  translation  into  Japanese, 
while  the  other  sects  used  the  (to  them)  unintelligible 
Sanskrit  and  Chinese.  Their  temples  are  built  mainly 
in  crowded  cities.  Their  priests  marry,  and  their  sons 
succeed  them  in  office.  This  sect  wields  a  vast  influence 
over  the  religious  life  of  the  people.  To  these  two  men, 
Shinran  and  Nichiren,  and  their  missionary  labors,  the 
great  progress  of  Buddhism  in  Japan  is  due. 


INTERIOR  OF  KWANON'S  TEMPLE.  TOKIO,  JAPAN. 


JAPANESE  BUDDHISM.  55  r 

FURTHER    HISTORY   OF    BUDDHISM    IN    JAPAN, 

The  books  and  idols  were  brought  from  Corea  in  552. 
In  584  several  of  the  nobles  at  court  professed  faith  in 
the  new  religion.  In  585  the  pestilence  broke  out,  and 
the  progress  of  Buddhism  seemed  to  be  checked.  In 
741  an  imperial  decree  was  given  that  two  temples  and 
a  seven-storied  pagoda  be  built  in  each  province.  This 
would  seem  to  indicate  the  establishment  of  Buddhism 
in  Japan.  But,  from  the  time  (800)  when  Kobo  Daishi 
showed  that,  according  to  Buddhism,  patriotism  and 
piety  were  one,  and  that  the  Shinto  gods  were  but  Japa- 
nese manifestations  of  Buddha,  it  gained  a  sure  foothold 
in  Japan ;  the  religion  spread  more  and  more  extensively, 
until  the  fourteenth  century,  when  the  zeal  of  Nichiren, 
Shinran  and  their  co-workers  were  somewhat  forgotten. 
Many  of  the  largest  Buddhist  temples  now  standing  were 
built  in  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries,  and  are 
therefore,  five  or  six  hundred  years  old.  In  the  four- 
teenth century  the  great  majority  of  the  soldiers  were 
Buddhists.  Images  of  Buddha  were  sewed  into  their  hel- 
mets ;  texts  from  the  sacred  books  were  woven  into  their 
banners ;  and  amulets  or  charms,  with  sacred  characters 
written  on  the  papers  within  them,  were  worn  as  a  pro- 
tection in  battle. 

From  the  year  1570  Nobunaga,  a  famous  warrior,  ap- 
pears as  a  persecutor  of  the  Buddhists.  The  Buddhists 
were  then  very  powerful ;  they  had  enormous  monas- 
teries and  stone-walled  and  moated  fortresses.  The 
priests  of  the  various  sects  were  continually  quarreling 
among  themselves,  and  used  arms  with  the  dexterity  of 
the  soldiery.  They  grew  to  be  less  and  less  strict  in 
their  observance  of  religious  rites  and  rules  as  they  grew 
prosperous.     On  the  shore  of  Lake  Biwa  was  the  largest 


r^66 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


monastery  in  all  Japan.*  Here  thousands  of  monks  were 
gathered  together.  They  chanted  their  prayers  before 
gorgeous  altars,  while  they  reveled  in  luxury  and  licen- 
tiousness, drinking  wine,  eating  forbidden  food,  and 
yielded  to  the  charms  of  concubines  or  fanned  the  flames 

of  wars  be- 
tween their 
followers  and 
those  of  other 
sects.  Nobu- 
nas^a,  who  had 
been  trained 
among  priests, 
had  no  respect 
for  such  char- 
acters ;  he  was 
born,  bred  and 
educated  as  a 
Shintoist,  and 
he  hated  Bud- 
dhism. In  1 571 
he  ordered  his 
soldiers  to  set 
i/-j  fire  to  this  and 
other  monas- 
teries, and  tO' 
destroy  their 
occupants 
without  exception.  Before  this,  Xavier  and  other  Jesuit 
missionaries  had  come  to  Japan,  and  they  were  encour- 
aged by  Nobunaga,  because  he  regarded  them  as  oppo- 
nents of  the  Buddhists.  But  Buddhism  thrived  in  spite 
of  this  persecution.  Now  the  whole  country,  with  its 
35,000,000  of  people,  may  be  called  Buddhist.     But  since 


THE  HIOGO  BUDDHA. 


JAPANESE  BUDDHISM. 


667 


the  thirteenth  century  not  many  very  extensive  monas- 
teries have  been  built.     That  work  is  nearly  abandoned. 

BUDDHIST   SECTS    IN    JAPAN. 

Buddhism  in  Japan  is  broken  up  into  many  sects. 
These  sects  differ  greatly,  much  more  than  even  Protest- 
antism and  Roman  Catholicism.  For  a  time  they  waged 
bitter  wars  against  each  other,  and  sought  to  exterminate 
each  other. 

W.  E.  Griffis  has  prepared  the  following  tabular  list  of 
Buddhist  sects  in  Japan: 

Chief  Sects.  Total  number  of  Temples. 

1.  Tendai,  founded  by  Chisha,  in  China,        .          .          .  6,391 

2.  Shingon,  "  "  Kobo,  in  Japan,  A.  D.  813,         .  15,503 

3.  Zen,  "  "  Dharma,  "           ....  21,547 

4.  Jodo,  "  "  Honen,     "         A.  D.  1173,           .  9,819 

5.  Shin,  "  "  Shinran,   "         A.  D.  1213,          .  13,718 

6.  Nichiren,  "  "  Nichiren,  in  Japan,  A.  D.  1262,  . 

7.  Ji,  "  "  Ippen,            "           A.  D.  1288,  .  586 

According  to  the  census  taken  in  Japan  in  1872,  there 
was  a  population  of  33,110,825.  Of  these  there  were 
75,925  priests,  abbots  and  monks;  9  abbesses;  37,327 
novices  preparing  to  become  monks  or  priests;  and 
98,585  religious  devotees  were  gathered  in  monasteries. 
These  last  are  mostly  of  the  Shin  sect.  In  1875  the 
census  showed  a  decrease  of  over  4,000  of  these  religieux. 
Besides  the  seven  chief  sects  above  mentioned,  there  are 
twenty-one  "irregular,"  "local"  or  "independent"  sects, 
which  act  apart  from  the  others,  and  in  some  cases  have 
no  temples  or  monasteries.  A  number  of  other  sects 
have  originated  in  Japan,  flourished  for  a  time,  decayed 
and  passed  out  of  existence,  Mr.  Griffis  estimates  that 
it  took  900  years  to  convert  the  Japanese  from  their 
nature-worship  to  Buddhism. 


668 


EK/iOR'S   CHAINS. 


THE    PROTESTANTS    OF    BUDDHISM. 

The  members  of  the  Shin  sect,  founded  in  121 3,  some- 
times called  the  Shinshin,  at  other  times  the  Monto 
sect,  are  the  Protestants  of  Japanese  Buddhism.  They 
protested  and  still  protest  against  penance,  fasting,  pil- 
grimages, convents  and  monasteries,  hermitages,  charms, 
amulets  and  the  readino^  of  the  Buddhist  sacred  books  in 


BUDDHIST  SHRINE  AT  KOBE. 


an  unknown  tongue.  Its  founder,  the  priest  Shinran, 
married  a  noble  lady  of  Kioto.  The  Monto  priests  always 
marry  and  oppose  the  celibacy  of  the  priesthood.  This  is 
the  most  thoroughly  organized  and  earnestly  aggressive 
of  all  the  Buddhist  sects  of  Japan.  Its  priests  are  wide- 
awake and  active.  Two  of  them  have  been  studying  the 
Sanskrit  language  with  the  famous  Professor  Max  Miiller, 


JAPANESE  BUDDHISM. 


669 


preparing  better  to  understand  and  preach  their  sacred 
books,  which  are  written  in  this  tongue.  One  of  the  fore- 
most priests 
of  to-day  is 
Akamatz,  who 
spent  several 
years  in  Eng- 
land studying 
Sanskrit  and 
Christianity. 
Their  temples 
are  the  most 
magnificent  in 
Japan.  A  spe- 
cially favored 
visitor  to  the 
Nishi-Hongu- 
wanji  temple, 
which  may  be 
described  as 
the  cathedral 
of  the  Monto 
sect,  describes 
what  she  saw 
while  there  as 
follows:  "We 
walked  around 
the  outside  of 
the     public  Japanese  pilgrim  in  winter  dress. 

rooms,  which  are  numerous,  large  and  lofty,  by  a  deep 
corridor,  from  which  we  saw  the  interior  through  the  open 
doors  and  the  dull  gleam  of  rich  dead  gold  hinted  of  the 
artistic  treasures  within.  For  in  these  dimly-lighted  rooms, 
most  of  which  have  been  set  apart  for  guests  for  centuries, 


670 


EHROJi'S   CHAINS. 


there  are  paintings  nearly  300  years  old,  and  the  walls  are 
either  paneled  in  gold,  or  are  formed  of  sliding-screens, 
heavily  overlaid  with  gold-leaf,  on  which,  in  the  highest 
style  of  Japanese  art,  are  depicted  various  sacred  em- 
blems— the  lotus,  the  stork,  the  peony,  and  the  Cleyo^a 
Japonica — executed  very  richly  and  beautifully  with 
slightly  conventionalized  fidelity  to  nature.  From  thence 
we  passed  into  the  great  temple,  the  simple  splendor  of 


r  \ 

DINING-ROOM  OF  A  BUDDHIST  MONASTERY. 

which  exceeds  anything  I  have  yet  seen.  The  vast  oblong 
space  has  a  flat  roof,  supported  on  many  circular  pillars 
of  finely-planed  wood ;  a  third  part  is  railed  off  for  the 
sanctuary ;  the  panels  of  the  folding-doors  and  the  panels 
at  the  back  are  painted  with  flowers  on  a  gold  ground ; 
behind  a  black  lacquer  altar  stands  a  shrine  of  extreme 
splendor,  gleaming  in  the  twilight;  but  on  the  high  altar 
itself  there  were  only  two  candlesticks,  two  vases  of  pure 
white  chrysanthemums,  and  a  glorious  bronze  incense- 


RELIGIOUS  FESTIVAL  AT  NIGHT  IN  THE  TEMPLE-GRoUNDS  OF  ASAKUSA  TOKIO. 


JAPANESE  BUDDHISM.  5-^ 

burner.  An  incense-burner  was  the  only  object  on  the 
low  altar.  Besides  these  there  were  six  black  lacquer 
desks,  on  each  desk  a  roll  of  litanies,  and  above  the  altar 
six  lamps  burned  low.  It  was  imposingly  magnificent. 
The  Japanese  have  a  proverb:  'As  handsome  as  a 
Monto  altar.' " 

This  sect  rejects  images  and  all  sensuous  paraphernalia 
addressed  to  the  popular  taste. 

The  Creed  of  the  Monto  sect  is  thus  given  by  Aka- 
matz :  "  Rejecting  all  religious  austerities  and  other  ac- 
tions, giving  up  all  idea  of  self-power,  rely  upon  Amita 
Buddha  with  the  whole  heart  for  our  salvation,  which  is 
the  most  important  thing;  believing  that  at  the  moment 
of  putting  one's  faith  in  Amita  Buddha  our  salvation  is 
settled. 

"  From  that  moment  invocation  of  his  name  is  observed 
to  express  gratitude  and  thankfulness  for  Buddha's 
mercy.  Moreover,  being  thankful  for  the  reception  of 
this  doctrine  from  the  founder  and  succeeding  chief 
priests,  whose  teachings  are  as  kind  and  welcome  as  the 
light  in  a  dark  night. 

"We  must  also  keep  the  laws  which  are  fixed  for  our 
duty  during  our  whole  life," 

kwanon's  temple  at  asakusa,  tokio. 

Tokio,  the  eastern  capital  of  Japan,  is  the  most  thickly- 
populated  city  of  the  empire.  It  has  a  very  large  number 
of  temples  and  shrines.  The  most  famous  and  popular 
of  all  is  the  temple  of  Kwanon,  at  Asakusa.  Asakusa  is 
really  one  great  play-ground,  with  the  temple  in  the 
centre.  The  people  gather  there  for  pleasure  as  well 
as  worship.  The  approach  to  the  temple  is  by  a  long 
lane,  from  twelve  to  fifteen  feet  wide,  and  is  lined  with 
booths,  stalls  and  shops,  in  which  toys  and  articles  of 
41 


674 


ERUOK'S   CHAINS. 


ornament  and  the  like  are  sold.  It  is  always  holiday- 
time  here.  The  toys,  dolls  and  all  manner  of  playthings 
^re  displayed  in  wonderful  variety.  The  shops  are  open 
•all  along  their  fronts,  and  the  toys  are  arranged  on  steps, 
rising  as  they  were  farther  and  farther  from  the  front,  so 
.that  everything  in  the  shops  could  be  seen  at  a  glance. 
The  Japanese  are  a  very  domestic  people,  and  think  a 
great  deal  of  their  children,  and  often  when  they  go  to 
the  temple  to  worship  they  take  the  children  with  them, 
and  purchase  toys,  games,  puzzles  or  dolls  for  them  at 
these  booths.  Inside  the  temple-grounds  are  "tea- 
houses," as  they  are  called,  where  the  people  sit  to  quaff 
the  tea  from  tiny  cups,  while  they  listen  to  some  inter- 
esting tale,  as  it  is  told  by  the  story-tellers.  The  story- 
tellers are  a  regular  profession  in  Japan.  Jugglers  and 
gymnasts,  painters  and  play-actors  are  doing  their  best 
to  amuse  the  worshipers.  Little  stands  are  erected, 
where  beans  (Japanese  peanuts)  are  being  roasted,  where 
savory  stews  are  being  prepared,  where  barley  sugar- 
candy  is  being  pulled,  or  where  sweetmeats  are  being 
prepared  for  little  purchasers.  It  is  astonishing  to  see 
the  manifold  ways  in  which  amusements  are  provided, 
and  all  is  in  connection  with  the  temple  services.  The 
owners  of  the  booths,  etc.,  all  pay  a  percentage  of  their 
profits  to  the  priests.  Just  before  coming  into  the  temple 
proper,  one  passes  through  a  huge  red  gateway,  having  a 
■compartment  on  each  side  of  the  doorway.  In  these 
'compartments  are  two  gigantic  wooden  Images,  painted 
red.  They  are  two  of  the  guardians  of  Heaven,  defending 
the  passage-way,  to  keep  out  evil  spirits.  The  idols  are 
protected  by  wire  screens,  such  as  are  used  to  protect 
store  windows.  To  these  gratings  huge  straw  sandals 
are  tied.  They  are  the  offerlnors  of  the  worshipers  for 
the  use  of  the  gods.     On  New  Year's  Eve  the  priests  are 


NEW  YEAR'S  FROLIC  IN  JAPAN. 


JAPANESE  BUDDHISM. 


^17 


BUDDHIST  "  NIO,"  OR  TEMPLE  GUARD. 

placed  on  a  platform,  suspended  in  this  doorway  and 
under  the  eyes  of  the  gods.  From  this  position  they 
distribute  paper  amulets  to  the  people,  guaranteeing  the 


678 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


protection  of  Kwanon  to  such  who  shall  be  so  fortunate 
as  to  secure  one.  They  throw  them  in  the  air,  their 
servants  fanning  them,  so  as  to  distribute  them  the  more 
thoroughly,  and  the  great,  surging  crowds  struggle  in 
their  search  of  them.  Inside  the  gateway  are  more 
booths  ;  these  are  for  the  sale  of  the  objects  to  be  used  in 
worship — idols,  rosaries,  candles,  domestic  altars  and  the 
like.  Here,  in  a  litde  stable  on  the  left  of  the  way,  is  an 
Albino  pony.  This  is  for  the  use  of  the  goddess  Kwanon. 
Eachmorningthe  priests  lead  the  pony  before  the  goddess, 
and  ask  her  if  she  does  not  wish  to  take  a  ride.  At  a 
large  table  near  by,  an  old  woman  sells  large  beans,  which 
the  pious  worshiper  buys  and  give  to  the  sacred  white 
horse  for  food.  He  has  a  priest  to  attend  him.  On 
another  table  the  worshiper  purchases  a  small  dish  of 
beans,  which  he  throws  on  the  ground,  and  immediately 
flocks  of  pigeons  sweep  down  and  eat  them.  These  are 
sacred  pigeons,  to  whom  the  right  of  using  the  temple  and 
all  its  buildings  is  given.  Within  the  temple-grounds,  and 
surrounding  the  temple  of  Kwanon,  are  some  forty  or 
fifty  sacred  buildings,  temples  arid  shrines,  devoted  to 
the  worship  of  almost  all  the  national  gods — shrines  of 
Sanno,  the  ruler-god;  Dai-Koku,  the  rice  god;  Benten, 
goddess  of  harmony ;  Hachiman,  god  of  war ;  and  even 
of  the  fox  are  to  be  found  here.  The  fox  is  worshiped 
because  of  the  mischief  he  can  do.  His  little  chapel  is  on 
the  summit  of  a  knoll ;  just  before  it  arc  two  granite 
images  of  the  fox,  representing  him  in  a  sitting  posture, 
with  his  eyes  on  every  one  approaching  his  sanctuary. 
The  faithful  bow,  cast  their  coins  in  the  box  placed  here 
for  that  purpose,  kneel  in  prayer,  hang  up  their  offerings, 
and  turn  away.  Near  the  central  temple  is  a  seven- 
storied  pagoda,  symbolizing  the  supremacy  of  Buddhism. 
From  the  eaves  of  each  story  are  suspended  wind-bells. 


JAPANESE  BUDDHISM.  570 

We  turn  to  ascend  the  copper-edged  steps  of  the 
central  building.  This  is  a  plain  wooden  structure,  built 
with  great  solidity,  and  yet  so  planned  as  to  be  secure 
against  the  frequent  earthquakes.  Its  massive  sloping 
roof  of  gray  tiles  sweeps  up  from  either  side.  There  are 
two  main  rooms  in  the  temple,  a  sort  of  vestibule,  where 
the  worshipers  perform  their  ceremonies,  and  the  screened 
shrine  of  the  goddess.  The  pigeons  are  perched  about 
the  rafters,  and  the  whole  place  is  noisy  and  dirty.  Huge 
lanterns  are  suspended  from  the  ceiling ;  private  shrines 
are  scattered  here  and  there ;  the  walls  are  hung  with 
pictures  and  white  tablets.  Around  the  great  red  columns 
which  support  the  ceiling,  and  on  the  wire  screens  before 
the  idols,  are  hung  scores  of  braids  of  hair  of  men  and 
women,  presented  as  offerings  to  Kwanon.  The  ceiling 
is  covered  with  paintings  of  scenes  from  Buddha's  life. 
The  worshiper,  as  he  enters,  drops  a  coin  in  the  lap  of 
an  old  woman,  at  the  door,  who  puts  a  pinch  of  incense 
on  the  fire  burning  in  a  brazier,  and  passes  on  to  the 
front  of  the  altar  to  pray.  The  great  altar,  on  which  is 
the  splendid  gilt  statue  of  Kwanon,  is  protected  by  a 
wire  screen.  Before  the  screen  is  a  large  coffer,  extend- 
ing  clear  across  the  front  of  the  altar,  with  bars  across 
its  top.  Into  this,  before  engaging  in  prayer,  each  wor- 
shiper casts  a  coin.  Then  he  kneels,  rubbing  the  palms 
of  the  hands  together,  repeating  his  prayer  and  telling 
his  beads.  Often  one  will  buy  from  the  priest  a  written 
prayer,  put  it  in  the  mouth  and  chew  it  into  pulp  and 
then  throw  the  "  spit-ball  "  at  the  screen.  If  it  sticks,  he 
believes  that  his  prayer  will  be  heard ;  if  it  falls,  he  ex- 
pects it  to  fail !  Men,  women  and  children,  shop-keepers 
and  soldiers,  peasants  and  princes,  country  and  city  folks, 
are  all  the  time  coming  and  going.  After  worshiping  at 
the  main  altar,  the  devotee  often  turns  to  the  side  altars 


68o 


ERROR- S   CHAINS. 


or  to  some  of  the  shrines.  At  the  right  of  the  altar  sits  an 
ugly  wooden  idol,  perched  up  on  a  table.  He  rivals  even 
the  main  altar  in  the  number  of  worshipers  that  throng 
to  touch  him.     He  is  the  god   Binzuru,  one  of  Buddha's 

sixteen  disci- 
ples who  is  re- 
puted to  cure 
disease.  It  is 
a  pitiable  sight 
to  see  crowds 
of  blind,  lame, 
diseased,sickly 
persons  com- 
ino-  in  a  Ions: 
string,  eagerly 
awaiting  their 
turn  to  touch 
him;  for  if  they 
can  but  first 
rubtheirhands 
on  him,  and 
then  on  the 
diseased  spot, 
it  is  sure  to 
heal.  Often  a 
group  of  moth- 
ers, each  with 
a  sickly  little 
on  her 
carried 


babe 
back, 


JAPANESE  PICTURE  OF  KWANON. 

in  Japanese  fashion,  between  her  inner  and  outer  gar- 
ments, will  approach  Binzuru.  Reaching  around,  they  take 
the  tiny  hand  of  the  sick  child,  and  rub  it  on  the  face  of 
the  idol.     So  constant  has  been  the  rubbing  that  the  idol. 


JAPANESE  BUDDHISM.  ^gj 

though  made  of  hard  wood,  has  lost  all  its  features  ;  eyes, 
nose,  lips,  ears  are  all  rubbed  away.  Near  by  is  a  stand 
where  an  old  woman  sells  for  the  priest  pictures,  or  small 
shrines  of  Kwanon,  which  are  exactly  like  the  accompany- 
ing pictures. 

Behind  the  screen  are  many  smaller  idols  and  altars, 
and  an  inclosed  matted  space,  where  those  who  choose 
may,  by  paying  an  extra  fee  to  the  attendant  priests, 
enter  and  worship  undisturbed.  On  high  days  and  great 
festival  occasions,  a  space  near  the  altar  is  fenced  in,  and 
the  priests,  richly  dressed,  chant  their  prayers,  while  in- 
cense is  smoking  and  candles  are  flaring.  The  crowd 
presses  against  the  fence,  and  by  making  special  gifts  of 
money,  secure  special  prayers  for  themselves,  and  extra 
candles,  representing  such  prayers,  are  placed  on  the 
stand  for  them  by  the  attendants. 

To  the  left  of  the  altar  are  placed,  by  the  symbols  of 
the  Shinto-worship,  the  mirror  and  white  paper.  This 
enables  all  shades  of  opinion  to  be  suited. 

Outside  the  building  are  groves  of  plum  and  cherry 
trees,  which  are  esteemed  not  so  much  for  their  fruit  as 
for  their  blossoms.  Here  are  carefully  kept  beds  of 
lotus,  azaleas,  chrysanthemums,  and  camellias  and  ever- 
greens. These  evergreens  are  dwarfed  and  trimmed  into 
all  sorts  of  fanciful  shapes,  even  while  growing.  Trees 
many  years  old  are  made  to  represent  cats,  dogs,  boats, 
houses,  wagons  and  other  objects.  Around  the  bases  of 
the  idols  of  Buddha,  scattered  everywhere,  are  heaps  of 
small  stones,  representing  prayers  offered.  A  praying- 
machine — a  stone  wheel  set  to  run  on  a  stone  post — 
stands  close  by.  There  is  an  exhibition  of  wax-works, 
which  would  rival  Madame  Tussaud's,  of  London.  These 
are  intended  to  depict  various  deliverances  from  dangers 
and  peril,  wrought  by  Kwanon. 


682 


EJiROJi'S   CNAIXS. 


TEMPLE    OF    SHIBA,  IN    TOKIO,    JAPAN. 

One  of  the  finest  temples,  of  Japan  was  that  of  Shiba, 
in  Tokio.     It  was  burned  by  a  fanatic  incendiary  on  the 


JAPANESE  BUDDHISM. 


685 


eve  of  New  Year's  Day,  December  31st,  1874.  For- 
merly the  visitor  passed  through  an  immense  red  gate- 
way on  the  north  side  of  the  temple,  and   tlien   passed 


INTERIOR  OF  THE  TEMPLE  OF  SHIBA. 


along  a  wide  avenue  lined  with  overhanging  fir-trees. 
After  passing  through  another  gateway,  one  enters  a 
large  court-yard,  in  which  were  arranged  200  stone  Ian- 


^36  ERROR'S   CHAINS. 

terns,  each  the  gift  of  a  Japanese  prince,  the  head  of  a 
clan.  Going  on  through  another  carved  and  gilded 
gateway,  another  court-yard  is  entered,  having  six  large 
gilt  lanterns,  each  the  gift  of  a  prince  of  the  royal  family. 
Then  another  gateway,  more  richly  carved  and  orna- 
mented than  the  last,  is  passed,  and  the  visitor  stood  be- 
fore the  handsome  shrines.  The  lacquered  steps  lead 
up  to  gilt  doors,  which  swing  open  upon  a  room  covered 
with  the  finest  white  matting.  The  walls,  panels  and 
beams  are  covered "  with  sculpture.  There  the  great 
altars  rise  up,  resplendent  with  golden  lacquer  and  sculp- 
ture. In  caskets  are  placed  the  tablets  of  the  deceased 
shogouns  and  rulers.  Images  of  Buddha  and  Kwanon 
are  scattered  about.  One  of  these  idols  represents 
Buddha  on  his  death-bed.  For  many  years  the  mikado 
lived  in  Kioto,  secluded  from  the  sight  of  the  people. 
The  real  ruler  was  called  shogoun  (in  later  days,  termed 
tycoon).  This  functionary  lived  in  Yedo  or  Tokio.  He 
was  accustomed  to  worship  at  Shiba.  On  the  great 
festival  occasions  he  proceeded  there  with  an  immense 
retinue,  and  the  services  were  performed  with  great 
magnificence. 

There  are  very  many  idols  and  shrines  in  the  country 
places,  as  well  as  in  the  cities.  In  every  hamlet,  by  the 
road-sides,  among  the  rice-fields,  by  the  sea-shore,  on  the 
hill-tops,  by  the  running  streams,  in  groves  of  trees  or 
in  niches  o^  the  rocks.  Generally,  the  temples  are  placed 
in  elevated  positions ;  these  are  reached  by  long  flights 
of  steps.  Just  outside  of  Tokio,  and  commanding  a  fine 
view  of  the  city,  is  the  hill  called  Atagosa  Yama.  One 
hundred  steps  lead  to  the  top  of  this  hill ;  there,  amid  the 
clumps  of  cedar  and  bamboo,  are  two  idols,  formerly 
much  worshiped.  They  are  both  Buddhas ;  the  one  is 
standing  on  a  lotus-flower ;  the  other  is  sitting  on  a  tortoise. 


JAPANESE  BUDDHISM.  ^g- 

Kobe  is  the  sea-port  town  of  Osaka.  High  up  on  a 
mountain-peak,  near  the  city,  is  a  famous  temple  built  by 
Jingu  Kogo,  the  Amazonian  empress  of  Japan,  after  her 
return  from  invading  Corea.  Many  hundreds  of  pilgrims 
visit  it  annually.  In  Kobe  is  the  shrine  of  a  hero,  much 
loved  and  honored  by  the  Japanese.  This  is  one  of  the 
means  used  by  the  Buddhist  priests  to  intrench  them- 
selves and  their  religion  in  the  affections  of  the  people. 
Immediately,  on  the  death  of  any  hero  or  noted  person- 
age, they  propose  erecting  a  shrine  or  a  monument  to 
him,  thus  drawing  the  devotions  of  the  people  anew  to 
that  particular  shrine,  and  through  it,  to  their  faith. 

TEMPLE    OF    FIVE    HUNDRED    GODS. 

The  temples  of  the  500  disciples  of  Buddha  are  among 
the  most  celebrated  in  Japan.  Of  these,  there  are  several 
— one  in  Asakusa,  and  one  in  Honjo.  In  one  of  these, 
near  the  main  image  of  Buddha,  is  an  idol  of  Hachiman, 
having  three  eyes,  horns,  hoofs  and  long  hair — a  curious 
combination.  In  each  corner,  in  iron  cages,  are  the  gods 
Daikoku  and  Yebisu.  Yebisu  is  the  god  of  daily  food, 
and  has  a  fish  under  his  arm ;  Daikoku,  god  of  wealth, 
sits  on  two  sacks  of  rice,  with  a  mallet  in  his  hand,  which, 
when  he  shakes  it,  is  supposed  to  send  wealth  to  the 
worshipers.  Great  numbers  of  strips  of  paper,  with 
prayers  written  on  them,  are  tied  to  the  railing  before 
these  gods,  and  this  indicates  their  popularity.  These 
images  are  found  in  almost  every  household,  and  receive 
•daily  worship.  The  idols  are  seated  under  a  scroll,  on 
their  throne.  Shallow  dishes  containing  oil  with  floating 
wicks,  are  placed  on  either  side  and  lighted.  On  low 
tables  are  placed  loaves  of  mochi,  made  of  glutinous  rice- 
flour  and  fishes,  and  vases  containing  scrolls.  The  head 
of  the  family,  kneeling  between  the  tall  candle-stick,  pre- 


588  ERROR'S   CHAINS. 

sents,  each  morning  before  breakfast,  a  cup  of  tea  or  saki 
— a  very  common  drink,  brewed  from  the  rice,  accom- 
panied with  a  dish  of  rice. 

In  the  Temple  of  the  Five  Hundred  Gods,  there  are, 
besides  these  gods,  a  statue  of  Kwanon  and  images  of  the 
five  hundred  of  Buddha's  disciples.  On  a  throne  of 
weather-stained  rocks  and  pieces  of  volcanic  rock  and 
lava,  is  a  colossal  image  of  Buddha,  seated  on  the  lotus- 
flower.  On  either  side  of  him  is  a  statue  of  an  elephant 
and  of  a  lion.  Next  to  Buddha  is  the  statue  of  the  dis- 
ciple who  collected  all  of  Buddha's  sayings;  next,  the 
disciple  who  never  forgot  anything  his  master  taught 
him,  and  so  on  through  all  the  list.  Away  in  the  rear  is 
the  black  image  of  Yema,  the  god  of  hell. 

In  this  representation  of  the  Buddhistic  hell  Yema  sits 
upon  his  throne  behind  a  table,  as  the  Japanese  pictures 
put  him,  with  his  pencil  in  hand,  ready  to  write  out  the 
sentence  of  the  condemned.  On  either  side  are  those 
who  keep  the  records  of  the  misdeeds  of  men,  and,  in 
front,  the  executioner  ready  to  cast  the  condemned  man 
from  his  boat  into  the  lake  of  fire.  In  the  future  state, 
there  are,  according  to  the  teaching  of  the  Buddhist 
priests,  eight  modes  of  torture.  "First,  the  wicked  are 
alternately  beaten  and  resuscitated ;  secondly,  they  are 
dragged  limb  from  limb,  chopped  to  pieces,  pounded  in  a. 
mortar,  sawn  or  planed  into  various  shapes,  eyes  gouged 
out,  and  the  tongue  and  nails  are  plucked  out ;  in  the 
third,  the  crowd  of  the  wicked  are  beaten  about  like  animals 
in  a  pen  ;  the  fourth  is  weeping;  the  fifth,  is  great  lamen- 
tation ;  the  sixth,  burning  and  roasting;  the  seventh,  hills 
covered  with  large  needles,  over  which  the  wicked  are 
driven ;  the  eighth,  being  thrown  into  the  bottomless  pit 
of  perdition."  These  are  specimens  of  the  terrors  which, 
heathenism  holds  over  its  followers. 


''JAPANESE  BUDDHISM. 


691 


THE    CASTING    OF    A   TEMPLE    BELL. 

Osaka  is  the  greatest  commercial  city  of  Japan.     In  it 
are  many  temples.     One  of  the  most  beautiful  sounds 


BELFRY  OF  THE  TEMPLE  AT  OSAKA,  JAPAN. 

the   traveler  ever  hears,  as   he   travels   in  Asia,  is   the 
sound  of  the  temple  bells  of  Japan.    They  are  very  large. 


692 


ERROR'S    CHAINS. 


and  generally  sounded  by  striking  a  suspended  beam 
against  the  bell.  Some  of  these  bells  are  ten  feet  high. 
On  their  sides  are  cast  or  engraven  texts  from  the  Bud- 
dhist sacred  books,  images  of  Buddha  or  Kwanon,  or  of 
heavenly  beings.  The  bell  was  stuck  on  a  knob  on  its 
side  by  the  small  tree-trunk.  Few  sounds  are  sweeter 
than  the  quivering,  mellow  tones  of  the  Japanese  temple 
bells.  The  bells  are  often,  as  in  Osaka,  placed  in  sepa- 
rate buildings,  built  for  them ;  this  was  to  give  a  better 
effect  to  the  sounds.  The  occasion  of  the  casting  of  a 
bell  was  one  of  great  public  rejoicing.  Offerings  of 
money  or  jewelry,  or  utensils  of  tin,  copper,  silver  or 
gold  were  brought  by  men  and  women.  "When  metal 
enough,  and  in  proper  proportion,  had  been  amassed, 
crucibles  were  made,  earth-furnaces  dug,  the  moulds 
fashioned,  and  huge  bellows — worked  by  standing  men 
at  each  end,  like  a  see-saw — were  mounted ;  and,  after 
due  prayers  and  consultations,  the  auspicious  day  was 
appointed.  The  place  selected  was  usually  a  hill  or 
elevated  place.  The  people,  in  their  gayest  dress,  as- 
sembled in  picnic  parties,  and  with  song,  and  dance,  and 
feast  waited  while  the  workmen,  in  festal  uniform,  toiled, 
and  the  priests,  in  canonical  robes,  watched.  The  fires 
were  lighted,  the  bellows  oscillated,  the  blast  roared,  and 
the  crucibles  were  brought  to  the  proper  heat  and  the 
contents  to  fiery  fluidity,  the  joy  of  the  crowd  increasing 
as  each  stage  in  the  process  was  announced.  When  the 
molten  flood  was  finally  poured  into  the  mould,  the  ex- 
citement of  the  spectators  reached  the  height  of  uncon- 
trollable enthusiasm.  Another  pecuniary  harvest  was 
reaped  by  the  priests  before  the  crowds  dispersed,  by  the 
sale  of  stamped  kerchiefs  or  paper  containing  a  holy 
text,  or  certifying  to  the  presence  of  the  purchaser  at  the 
ceremony,  and  the  blessing  of  the  gods  upon  him  there- 


JAPANESE  BUDDHISM.  5g^ 

for.  Such  a  token  became  an  heirloom ;  and  the  child 
who  ever  afterward  heard  the  solemn  boom  of  the  bell 
at  matin  or  evening,  was  constrained  by  filial,  as  well  as 
by  holy  motives,  to  obey  and  rev.erence  its  admonitory 
call."  Such  devotion  to  the  idol-worship  is  not  so  fre- 
quently seen  to-day,  as  skepticism  is  becoming  prevalent. 

THE  COLOSSAL  IDOL,  THE  KAMAKURA  DAI  BUTSU. 

There  is  a  gigantic  image  about  two  miles  from  Kama- 
kura,  and  twenty  miles  from  Yokohama,  The  colossal 
idol  of  Buddha  here  (see  frontispiece)  is  of  bronze,  and, 
though  sitting  in  Oriental  style,  is  forty-four  feet  high,  and 
including  the  terrace  on  which  it  sits,  is  sixty-five  feet. 
It  is  probably  the  most  finished  work  of  art  the  Japanese 
possess,  regarded  both  for  its  beauty  and  the  religious 
sentiment  it  expresses.  After  leaving  Kamakura,  with  its 
wonderful  old  temples,  the  road  passes  out  among  the  rice 
fields,  down  toward  the  shore  washed  by  the  waves  of 
the  Pacific  Ocean.  Every  here  and  there  torii,  or  birds" 
rests,  as  they  are  called,  great  gate-ways,  modeled  after 
those  before  the  topes  in  India,  are  placed.  They  con- 
sist of  two  upright  shafts  of  stone,  about  ten  or  twelve 
feet  high,  with  cross-pieces  on  their  tops  bending  up- 
wards at  the  ends,  and  extending  beyond  the  uprights,, 
and  a  square  cross-piece  about  a  foot  from  the  top  run- 
ning from  shaft  to  shaft.  Knowing  the  immensity  of  the 
statue,  the  visitor  for  the  first  time  is  on  the  lookout  for 
it.  But  its  builders  have  used  great  judgment  in  placing 
it,  for  it  is  not  to  be  seen  until  one  reaches  the  most  fa- 
vorable spot.  After  passing  through  the  red  gate-way,, 
with  its  Gog  and  Magog,  the  giant  idols,  on  either  side„ 
the  road  seems  to  end  in  a  clump  of  trees.  However,  it 
passes  around  the  trees,  and  there,  right  from  the  best 
place  to  see  the  idol  favorably,  there  right  before  him  it 


(5q4  ERROR'S   CHAINS. 

sits.  There  is  an  irresistible  charm  about  it ;  the  fea- 
tures of  the  face  are  in  such  perfect  harmony,  the  gar- 
ments are  so  simple,  the  face  is  so  serene  and  benevolent 
in  its  contemplative  ecstasy,  and  the  whole  pose  of  the 
fiofure  so  well  executed.  The  hills,  clad  with  evergreens, 
gendy  slope  together  in  the  background,  and  all  the 
buildings,  dwellings  for  priests,  etc.,  are  so  dexterously 
concealed  by  the  foliage.  The  place  is  silent,  and  time 
has  so  tempered  the  bronze  idol  itself  and  the  stones  of 
the  terrace,  that  the  whole  effect  is  grand,  and  compels 
admiration. 

But,  while  the  whole  scene  inspires  one  with  a  sense  of 
its  beauty  and  grandeur,  it  saddens  one  to  think  that  after 
all  it  is  an  idol.  Even  while  one  stops  to  study  its 
beauty  he  is  jostled  by  the  pilgrims  with  their  white  gar- 
ments, broad  hats,  litde  bells  fastened  to  their  girdles 
and  their  staves,  as  they  come  bowing  and  rising  alter- 
nately, till  they  get  near  to  the  idol.  The  idol  is  made 
of  bronze  plates,  nicely  united,  though  time  and  the 
weather  have  somewhat  exposed  some  of  these  joints. 
In  front  of  it  are  vases  with  bronze  lotus  lilies,  and  a 
bronze  brazier  where  incense  is  burned  day  by  day  for 
the  benefit  of  pilgrims. 

The  imaoe  is  hollow,  and  inside  smaller  idols  are  ranofed. 
A  window  in  his  shoulder  lets  in  the  light.  His  ears  are 
large,  as  are  the  ears  of  almost  all  idols,  and  the  head  is 
covered  with  representations  of  snail-shells,  to  protect 
him  from  the  sun.  The  idol  was  cast  and  erected  about 
six  hundred  years  ago.  At  first  a  building  inclosed  it, 
but  it  was  soon  destroyed,  and  for  nearly  six  centuries 
past  he  has  been  exposed  to  wind  and  rain,  and  snow 
and  frost,  to  earthquake  and  typhoon,  and  yet  he  is  there 
unharmed,  and  widely  admired  and  adored  by  hundreds 
of  devout  worshipers. 


STREET  MOUNTEBANKS  IN 


HE  NEW  year's  festival. 


JAPANESE   BUDDHISM.  ggg 


THE    FAMOUS   TEMPLE    OF   THE    GREAT    BUDDHA,  AT   NARA, 

"  Long  ere  great  Buddha  strode 

Upon  his  calm,  colossal,  godlike  way 
O'er  the  broad  rolling  river^  of  Cathay, 
By  the  Corean  road, 

"And  stepping  stormy  seas 

Hither,  to  mount  the  golden  lotus  throne, 
O  Nara,  there  to  rule  and  muse  alone. 
Through  lingering  centuries." 

As  usual  in  approaches  to  Japanese  temples,  thet^.  Afe 
several  shops  near  to  the  temple  itself.  In  the  centre  of 
the  large  open  space  between  the  lesser  gateway  and  the 
temple  is  an  immense  and  very  old  bronze  lantern,  large 
enough  for  a  man  to  stand  in.  This  lantern  was  pre- 
sented to  the  temple  by  the  renowned  hero  and  states- 
man, Yoritomo,  who  died  in  the  year  1 199,  and  is  700 
years  old.  It  is  in  daily  use  still.  This  temple  was 
originally  founded,  and  the  immense  image  made,  by  the 
Mikado  Shomu,  the  forty-sixth  of  the  present  line  of  em- 
perors, and  the  third  of  Nara,  who  died  748  A.  D.  The 
temple  was  destroyed  700  years  ago,  in  the  terrible  civil 
wars  of  the  twelfth  century,  and  again  seriously  injured, 
so  that  the  head  of  the  god  had  to  be  recast,  in  the  seven- 
teenth century.  The  great  gateway,  however,  with  most 
of  the  other  buildings  of  the  great  temple,  have  escaped 
such  injuries,  and,  although  constructed  of  wood,  have 
stood  as  they  now  stand  for  more  than  eleven  centuries. 

The  interest  of  this  place  centres  in  the  great  god  of 
gold  and  bronze,  which  has  been  the  wonder  of  Japan  for 
so  many  ages  past.  It  has  been  positively  stated  by  some 
that  a  considerable  amount  of  gold  entered  into  his  com- 
position ;  but  those  on  the  spot  seem  to  be  uncertain  as 
to  whether  the  gold  employed  in  making  him  was  mixed 


^oo 


EHROR'S   CHAINS. 


with  the  bronze  of  which  he  is  cast,  or  appHed  superficially 
to  him.  That  much  has  been  applied  in  the  latter  way 
there  can  be  no  doubt ;  and  in  places  in  which  the  gold 
is  visible,  and  which  I  closely  examined,  it  seemed  to  me 
that  it  conformed  to  an  external  line  of  ornament  in  each 
case,  which  would   indicate  that  it  was  superficial  only. 


JAPANESE  IDEA  OF  THE  JUDGE  OF  HELL. 

The    dimensions  of  this  god  are    truly   colossal. 


H 


IS 


height  from  the  base  of  the  lotus-flower,  on  which  he  sits, 
to  the  top  of  his  head  Is  sixty-three  and  one-half  feet ; 
and  above  this  rises  an  aureole  fourteen  feet  wide,  above 
which  again  rises  for  several  feet  the  flame-like  glory 
which  arches  in  the  whole  figure.     The  face  proper  is 


JAPANESE  BUDDHISM.  yOj 

sixteen  feet  long ;  its  width,  nine  and  one-half  feet.  The 
eyes  are  three  feet  nine  inches  long ;  the  eyebrows,  five 
and  one-half  feet ;  the  ears,  eight  and  one-half  feet.  The 
chest  is  twenty  feet  in  depth.  Its  middle  finger  is  five 
feet  long.  Around  the  head,  shoulders  and  sides  of  the 
god,  in  front  of  the  aureole,  are  sixteen  sitting  figures, 
said  to  be  eight  feet  long.  The  leaves  of  the  immense 
lotus  on  which  he  sits  are  each  ten  feet  long  and  six  feet 
wide,  and  there  are  fifty-six  of  them.  The  casting  must 
have  been  wonderfully  well  executed,  although  the  fine- 
ness of  the  leaf-edges,  and  other  parts  which  we  were 
able  to  examine,  and  the  elaborate  engraving  which  can 
be  traced  upon  the  lotus-leaves  in  the  uninjured  parts,, 
leaves  no  doubt  that  the  founder's  art  was  elaborately 
supplemented  by  the  file  and  graver.  The  countenance 
of  the  god  is  less  mild  and  calm  of  expression  than  is 
usual  in  images  of  Buddha.  The  right  hand  is  open  and 
raised  upwards  ;  the  left  rests  on  the  lap. 

SOME    JAPANESE    GODS. 

Many  of  the  gods  of  Shintoism  have  been  adopted  by 
the  Buddhists.  Hotei's  image  is  carved  into  the  shape 
of  buttons,  and  used  for  holding  the  pipe  in  the  girdle 
(a  Nitsuki).  Inari,  the  rice-god,  and  his  companion, 
Kitsune,  the  fox,  are  worshiped.  A  very  great  many 
superstitions  are  connected  with  the  fox.  If  one  is  sick, 
he  is  said  to  have  a  fox  in  him,  and  a  priest  is  sent  for, 
who,  by  beating  a  drum — at,  say,  three  beats  each  half 
minute  all  night  long — will  drive  him  out.  He  is  the 
cause  of  a  thousand  ills  to  the  people.  He  is  reverenced 
because  he  is  supposed  to  be  the  most  cunning  creature- 
in  creation.  Kitsune  becomes  by  turns  a  sacred,  amus- 
ing, perfidious,  diabolical  personage.  One  superstitious 
notion  is,  that  if  the  traveler  fail  to  honor  the  fox  before- 


yQ2  EJiJ^OK'S   CHAINS. 

his  journey,  he,  Kitsune,  will   take  revenge  by  causing 
will-o'-the-wisps  to  spring  up  all  over  the  rice-swamps,  and 
so  mislead  the  traveler,  and  prolong  his  journey  indefi- 
nitely.   This  lighting  the  will-o'-the-wisp  is  called  the  Fes- 
tival of  the  Foxes,  and  is  shown  in  the  opposite  picture. 

SOME    JAPANESE    FESTIVALS. 

New  Year's  day  is  observed  in  Japan  with  many  cere- 
monies. On  the  day  before  all  accounts  are  squared, 
new  clothing  is  bought,  and  the  people  prepare  to  spend 
the  morrow  with  great  joy.  The  Chinese  seek  to  drive 
the  devils  out  of  their  houses  by  exploding  fire-crackers. 
The  Japanese  have  a  feast  on  New  Year's  Eve,  and 
when  the  merriment  is  almost  over,  the  head  of  the 
house  takes  a  dish  of  beans  and  goes  all  over  the  house, 
throwing  the  beans  in  every  corner;  in  this  way  they 
think  they  drive  out  the  devils,  and  when  they  are  all 
out,  they  place  a  sacred  piece  of  paper,  which  they  have 
purchased  from  the  priest,  on  the  door,  to  prevent  their 
re-entering.  On  New  Year's  day  the  streets  are  alive 
with  the  people.  It  is  the  holiday  of  the  nation,  and  the 
temples  are  thronged  with  the  gay  worshipers  and  dex- 
terous jugglers. 

We  will  let  an  eye-witness  describe  a  Matsuri,  or  fes- 
tival scene.  He  writes  from  Osaka:  "The  other  day  a 
procession  passed  our  door,  which  you,  perhaps,  would 
like  to  hear  of.  We  heard  a  din,  a  Babel  of  voices, 
growing  louder  and  louder,  and  on  going  to  the  door 
saw  a  crowd  approaching,  composed  largely  of  boys  be- 
tween five  and  ten  years  of  age,  though  some  men  were 
among  them.  The  first  fifty  or  more  were  dressed  in 
uniform  colors,  a  suit  of  red  and  white,  in  squares  of 
about  an  inch  and  a  half,  the  red  being  a  dominant  color, 
looking,  indeed,  like  circus  clowns.     Each  person  had  a 


FKSTIVAL  OF  IHE  FOXES. 

This  is  a  supposed  freak  of  the  foxes  in  order  to  mislead  travelers  who  do  not  honor  them.     Will-o'-the- 
wisps  are  regarded  as  originating  in  this  way, 


JAPANESE  BUDDHISM. 


705 


cloth  tied  around  his  head,  with  apparently  a  paper  stuck 
in  it,  and  a  paper  fan  in  his  hand.     They  were  dancino- 


7o6 


E A' RON'S    CHAINS. 


A  JAPANESE  MATSURI,  OR  RELIGIOUS  FESTIVAL. 

along,  striking  their  hands,  or  perhaps  each  other,  with 
the  fan.  and  sincrin^  and  chatting.     The  men  especially 


JAPANESE  BUDDHISM.  ^q^ 

were  cutting  up  queer  antics.  Some  of  the  boys  had 
bells  hung  to  their  girdles.  Then  came  a  lot  of  older 
persons,  dressed  in  blue  and  white  garments.  Perhaps 
a  hundred  and  fifty  in  all.  Last  of  all  came  a  triumphal 
car,  a  miniature  temple,  or  shrine,  with  a  man  in  it.  They 
were  having  a  jolly  time  altogether." 

Another  festival  is  that  of  the  god  Tengou.  The  Japa- 
nese mariner  knows  no  festival  so  attractive  as  that  of 
which  the  sea  is  the  theatre.  When  the  sea-side  inhab- 
itants of  Sinagawa,  at  Tokio,  celebrate  the  anniversary 
of  their  favorite  deity,  Tengou,  they  believe  that  they 
best  show  their  affection  for  the  idol  by  transporting  it 
into  the  sea.  While  the  veterans  of  the  priesthood  and 
their  servants  attend  to  the  annual  purification  of  the 
temple  and  its  furniture,  the  most  vigorous  of  the  priests 
take  upon  their  shoulders  the  frame  on  which  the  shrine 
or  Mikosi  rests.  When  they  have  reached  the  shore, 
they  lay  aside  their  sacerdotal  vestments,  and  in  good 
order  plunge  through  the  waves.  Meanwhile  the  crowds 
of  fishermen,  who  follow  them  with  tumultuous  shouts, 
encircle  the  cortege;  seize  with  their  strong  arms  the 
sacred  abode  of  the  god ;  raise  it  above  the  lacquered 
caps  of  the  priests ;  and  in  spite  of  the  efforts,  real  or 
pretended,  of  its  official  guardians,  who  struggle  against 
the  crowd  in  the  midst  of  the  waves,  the  tottering,  but 
still  upright  shrine  in  the  hands  of  the  people  accom- 
plishes its  maritime  pilgrimage. 

This  ceremonial  takes  place  on  the  sixth  day  of  the 
sixth  month,  which  is  about  the  end  of  our  July.  It  lasts, 
with  its  different  rites,  to  the  eighth  day,  when,  to  con- 
clude, the  priests  distribute  to  their  flocks  branches  of 
trees  laden  with  fruit  in  the  condition  in  which  the  people 
most  like  it — that  is  to  say,  when  it  has  scarcely  arrived 
at  maturity. 

43 


7o8 


ERJiOJi'S   CHAINS. 


THE    SACRED    MOUNTAIN,    FUJI. 

One  of  the  grandest  sights  to  be  seen  in  all  the  world 
is  the  view  of  the  great  Sacred  Mountain  of  Japan,  Fuji- 
Yama.  The  writer  will  never  forget  the  impression  it 
made  upon  him.  It  rises  in  all  its  lonely  majesty  to  a 
height  of  13,080  feet  high.  Its  beautifully  sweeping  sides 
rise,  cone-like,  from  the  almost  level  lands  surrounding 
its  base.     It  is  no  wonder  that  the  mountain  is  so  dear 


FUJISAN,  FROM  A  VILLAGE  OX  THE  TOKAIT;  . 

to  the  heart  of  every  Japanese.  On  almost  all  their 
works  of  art,  in  bronze  or  lacquer-ware,  Mount  Fuji  is 
drawn  or  wrouofht.  Lonof  before  the  sun  has  lighted  the 
earth  below  at  the  sun-rise,  and  long  after  the  hills  and 
valleys  are  shrouded  in  the  darkness  of  the  coming  night, 
Fuji's  snow-crowned  summit  is  aglow  with  light;  the  huge 
cone  rising  high  above  the  clouds,  sublime,  colossal  and 


JAPANESE  BUDDHISM.  mqq 

beautiful  in  its  ruddy  purple.  To  this  mountain  the  Jap- 
anese are  accustomed  to  make  pilgrimages.  All  who 
have  visited  Fuji-Yama  in  pilgrimage  wear  a  little  bell 
attached  to  their  girdle,  in  addition  to  their  pilgrim  suit. 
Lonoffellow  has  introduced  into  his  Poems  of  Places,  in 
the  volumes  on  Asia,  the  following  translation  of  a  Jap- 
anese poem  on  Fuji : 

"Heaven  above  from  earth  below 
Long  ago  the  gods  have  parted, 
Henceforth  hiding  far  from  men. 
Round  the  hoary  peak  sublimely 
Towering  o'er  Suruga's  land, 
Fuji's  venerated  mountain, 
All  the  wide-arched  azure  sky 
Though  thou  search  with  wistful  gaze 
Of  the  hastening  sun's  bright  track. 
Not  a  glimpse  shalt  thou  enjoy ; 
Nor  of  gentlier  beamiig  moon 
Hail  the  shadow-fringing  shimmer : 
Fleecy  clouds  are  hovering, 
Hovering  round  the  high,  bare  summit, 
Veiling  it  from  mortal  ken. 
Hath  thereon  the  white  snow  fallen ; 
Would' St  thou  of  the  lofty  gods 
Know  the  annals,  only  Fuji 
Can  the  secret  story  tell  thee." 

CUSTOMS    CONCERNING    BIRTH,    MARRIAGE    AND    DEATH. 

With  but  a  very  few  exceptions  the  Japanese  Bud- 
dhists are  intensely  superstitious.  Some  of  the  young 
men  of  Japan,  who  have  come  in  contact  with  foreigners, 
have  given  up  their  superstitions ;  but  the  rest  of  the 
people,  more  especially  the  peasants,  hold  a  firm  faith  in 
a  multitude  of  superstitious  customs.  These  touch  upon 
the  most  Insignificant  occupations  of  every-day  life,  as 
well  as  upon  birth,  marriage  and  death. 


7IO  EKROK'S   CHAINS. 

When  a  child  is  thirty  days  old  it  is  taken  to  the  temple 
of  its  parents'  gods,  and,  with  the  assistance  of  the  priest, 
a  name  is  chosen.  Three  names  are  selected  by  the 
parents,  and  written  on  slips  of  paper.  These  slips  are 
tossed  in  the  air  by  the  priest,  while  he  mumbles  incanta- 
tions, and  the  first  slip  that  falls  to  the  floor  is  believed 
to  contain  the  name  chosen  by  the  gods  for  the  little  babe. 
The  priest  then  writes  this  name  on  a  piece  of  sacred 
paper,  and  it  is  given  to  the  parents  as  a  talisman. 

In  a  few  of  the  Buddhist  sects,  the  priest  assist  at  the 
marriage,  but  in  the  great  majority  of  cases  he  has  no 
part  to  perform  there.  At  the  marriage  ceremony  neither 
bride  nor  bridegroom  can  wear  any  garment  containing 
purple  color.  The  Japanese  believe  that  to  do  this  would 
be  most  fatal ;  for  as  purple  is  the  color  which  fades  most 
readily,  so  the  marriage  of  those  who  wear  purple  would 
come  to  an  end  speedily.  The  Japanese  marriage  cere- 
mony is  a  very  simple  one,  and  is  rather  singular,  because 
religion  finds  no  place  in  it.  When  the  bride  and  bride- 
groom and  their  friends  are  gathered  together,  a  small 
cup  is  filled  with  the  native  wine,  which  a  chosen  friend 
hands  to  the  bride,  who  drinks  from  it,  and  then  passes 
it  to  the  bridegroom ;  he  passes  it  back,  after  drinking, 
and  thus  it  passes  back  and  forth  between  the  two  a  few 
times  until  It  Is  emptied,  and  this  constitutes  them  man 
and  wife.  The  Japanese  say  that  It  is  thus,  that,  as  hus- 
band and  wife,  they  must  drink  of  the  same  cup  of  sorrow 
or  of  joy.  The  writings  of  Confucius,  are  the  basis  of 
many  of  the  laws  of  Japan.  According  to  these,  among 
the  seven  causes  for  divorce  is  the  one:  "If  she  talk  too 
much."  Every  heathen  religion  lowers  women  to  a  posi- 
tion far  below  that  of  man.  In  India,  woman's  lot  Is  the 
saddest,  and  In  Japan,  probably  the  happiest  of  all  heathen 
countries.     According  to  Buddhism  there  Is  no  salvation 


J  A  PA  NESE  B  UDDHISM.  7  j  j 

for  a  woman  unless  she  Is  born  over  again  as  a  man. 
The  nature-worship  of  Japan  gives  to  woman  a  much 
higher  place  than  Buddhism  does.  Two  things  tend  to 
cause  the  degradation  of  women  in  Japan.  The  one  is 
the  custom  of  having  many  wives ;  the  other  is  the  de- 
mands of  parental  obedience.  In  Japan,  according  to  Bud- 
dhist teaching,  a  girl  must  obey  her  father  in  everything, 
and  no  exception  is  allowed.  Hence  it  not  infrequently 
happens  that  the  father  commands  his  child  to  enter  upon 
a  life  of  sin,  that  he  may  make  money  by  it.  The  daughter 
is  bound  to  do  as  she  is  bidden,  and  thus  the  greatest 
evil  that  can  come  upon  a  woman  is  brought  upon  her 
under  the  direction  of  a  heathen  system.  But,  thank 
God,  noble  Christian  women  have  gone  forth  from  our 
own  and  other  Christian  lands,  and  by  their  teachings 
and  examples  have  done  much  to  better  the  condition  of 
the  women  of  Japan  and  a  brighter  day  Is  rapidly  dawn- 
ing upon  them. 

From  the  moment  when  a  person  dies  in  Japan,  re- 
ligious ceremonies  are  performed  in  the  house  of  the 
deceased  until  the  body  is  removed  to  the  grave.  Priests 
are  Immediately  sent  for,  who  light  the  candles  and  in- 
cense-sticks before  the  household  gods,  and  who  recite 
their  prayers.  The  priests,  carrying  their  rosaries,  head 
the  funeral  procession  as  it  goes  to  the  temple.  The 
nearest  relatives  are  dressed  in  white,  and  carry  various 
objects  formerly  used  by  the  deceased.  The  square 
coffin  is  set  down  in  the  temple  before  the  altar,  and  re- 
ligious services  are  performed,  with  more  or  less  pomp, 
according  to  the  wealth  of  those  who  fee  the  priests  for 
the  services.  Very  frequently,  the  bodies  are  then  burned, 
and  the  ashes  placed  In  an  urn  ;  at  other  times,  the  bodies 
are  buried.  After  a  time,  the  nearest  relative  of  the  dead 
person  buys  from  the  priest  a  long,  narrow  board  or  tab- 


712 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


let,  containing  the  new  name  of  the  deceased.  This  is 
placed  on  the  grave.  Fresh  flowers  and  evergreens  are 
kept  on  the  tomb-stones  in  bamboo  vases  for  a  long  time. 
The  relatives  resort  to  the  tombs  for  worship ;  praying, 
sometimes,  to  the  deceased,  asking  his  aid,  or  at  other 
times  /or  the  deceased,  that  he  may  be  freed  from  the 
pains  of  purgatory.    In  either  case  they  are  very  devout. 

SOME    JAPANESE    SUPERSTITIONS. 

Scattered  all  over  Japan  are  trees,  which  are  specially 
devoted  to  the  gods,  or  Kami,  as  they  are  called  in  Jap- 
anese. Often  they  twist  some  rice-straw  into  a  rope,  and 
bind  it  around  the  base  of  a  tree  to  indicate  its  sacred- 
ness.  Like  the  Greeks  of  old,  the  Japanese  imagine  that 
the  mountains  and  valleys,  the  rills  and  rivers,  the  rocks 
and  trees,  are  all  filled  with  spirits.  They  tell  tales  of 
trees  shedding  blood,  or  groaning  in  agony,  when  the 
woodman  cut  them  with  his  axe.  Some  trees,  we  are 
told,  are  believed  to  have  wonderful  power  to  attract  men 
to  commit  suicide ;  this  is  because  they  are  possessed  by 
evil  spirits.  Other  trees  are  noted  for  the  shelter  they 
afford  in  storms,  for  the  protection  they  furnish  when 
flying  from  enemies ;  these  are  supposed  to  be  inhabited 
by  good  and  helping  spirits.  Many  customs  among 
Christian  nations,  so-called,  are  decidedly  superstitious. 
For  example,  it  is  counted  unlucky  in  some  parts  of 
America  to  spill  salt,  to  break  a  looking-glass,  to  have 
thirteen  people  sit  down  at  table  together ;  and  many  are 
the  stories,  undoubtedly  true,  it  is  declared,  which  are  told 
to  illustrate  the  certaintv  with  which  evils  follow  these 
signs.  So  in  Japan  there  are  many  such  superstitious 
signs  and  customs,  some  of  them  just  the  opposite  of 
signs  in  other  lands.  These  signs  are  almost  innumer- 
able, and  concern  the  actions  of  every  day.     Many  are 


JAPANESE  BUDDHISM. 


715 


the  fairy  tales  and  ghost  stories  which  the  O-Baa-San,  or 
grandmother,  tells  to  the  children  as  they  gather  around 
the  fire-box  at  night,  and  which  send  them  shivering  and 
shaking  to  bed.  Some  of  the  superstitious  customs, 
however,  are  not  revolting,  but  are  very  beautiful.  Mr. 
Griffis,  an  American  teacher  in  Japan,  tells  us  one  of  this 
better  kind.  It  is  called  "  The  Mother's  Memorial."  It  is 
popular  with  all 
classes,  being 
often  used  by 
the  Shintoists 
as  well  as  the 
Buddhists.  He 
writes  thus:  "A 
sight  not  often 
met  with  in  the 
cities,  but  in  the 
suburban  and 
country  places 
as  frequent  as 
the  cause  of  it 
requires,  is  the 
nagare  kanjo 
(flowing  invo- 
cation). Apiece 
of  cotton-cloth 


THE  FLOWING  INVOCATION. 


is  suspended  by  its  four  corners  to  stakes  set  in  the 
ground  near  a  brook  or  rivulet.  Behind  this  is  a  high, 
narrow  board,  notched  near  the  top,  and  having  an  in- 
scription written  upon  it.  Resting  by  the  brookside  is 
a  wooden  dipper.  Perhaps,  upon  the  four  corners,  in  the 
hollow  ends  of  the  upright  bamboo  stakes,  may  be  set 
bouquets  of  flowers.  The  inscriptions  and  flowers  are 
like  those  set  up  upon  graves.     Waiting  long  enough. 


7i6 


ERUOR'S  CHAINS. 


perchance  but  a  few  minutes,  there  maybe  seen  a  passer 
who  pauses,  and,  devoutly  offering  a  prayer,  with  the  aid 
of  his  rosary,  reverently  dips  a  ladleful  of  water,  pours  it 
on  the  cloth,  and  waits  until  it  has  strained  through,  be- 
fore moving  on.  All  this,  when  the  significance  is  under- 
stood, is  very  touching.  It  is  a  silent  appeal  to  the 
passer-by,  by  the  love  of  Heaven,  to  shorten  the  penal- 
ties of  a  soul  in  pain.  The  Japanese  believe  that  the 
mother  dying  in  child-bed,  suffers,  by  such  a  death,  for 
some  sin  committed  long  ago.  After  death,  they  say, 
she  sinks  into  a  hell,  until  this  '  flowing  invocation  '  ceases, 
by  the  wearing  out  of  the  symbolic  cloth.  When  this  is 
so  utterly  worn  that  the  water  no  longer  drips  through, 
but  falls  through  at  once,  the  mother's  soul  is  delivered 
from  her  sufferings.  But  in  addition  to  the  sadness  that 
this  superstition  brings  upon  us,  as  we  think  of  the  delu- 
sion this  people  rest  under,  there  is  a  feeling  of  indigna- 
tion awakened  as  we  learn  that  these  cloths  can  only  be 
purchased  from  a  priest,  and  that  for  much  money  a  cloth 
can  be  bought,  so  thin  in  the  middle,  that  the  water  soon 
runs  through,  while  the  poor  person  must  be  content 
with  a  cloth  that  it  will  take  a  long  while  to  wear  out." 

RELIGION    OF   THE    AINOS. 

To  the  north  of  the  main  island  of  Japan,  and  almost 
touching  it,  lies  the  island  of  Yezzo.  The  people  of 
Yezzo  are  called  Ainos ;  they  are  savages  in  their  man- 
ner of  life,  though  their  disposition  is  kind  and  their 
manner  orentle. 

The  following  account  of  Ainos  worship,  particularly 
the  strange  "sacrifice  of  the  bear,"  is  from  Mr.  J.  J.  Ensile, 
Consul  at  Hakodate,  1 861-3: 

"  The  religious  creed  of  the  Ainos  is  the  ancient  Japa- 
nese 'Shintoism,'  or  the  adoration  of  the  Kamls.     Their 


JAPANESE  BUDDHISM. 


717 


rulers  have  made  many  attempts  to  convert  them  to 
Buddhism;  but  the  only  result  of  these  endeavors  is 
that  the  Ainos  now  rub  their  hands  together  as  a  form 
of  worship  before  their  gods,  instead  of  raising  the  hands 
above  the  head  as  they  formerly  did.  There  is  a  slight 
difference  between  the  symbols  of  Japanese  and  Aino 
Shintoism — the  former  exhibiting  a  looking-glass  and  a 
variety  of  white  paper  ornaments,  while  the  latter  use  a 
polished  stone  and  garlands  made  of  a  peculiar  descrip- 
tion of  very  white  wood.  The  Ainos,  however,  have 
numerous  festivals  totally  distinct  from  Shintoism.  The 
grandest  and  most  solemn  of  these  festivals  is  undoubt- 
edly the  Sacrifice  of  the  Bear,  for  which  animal  the  Ainos 
entertain  a  stransfe  sort  of  veneration. 

"  The  savage  denizen  of  the  forest  destined  to  be  ex- 
alted to  the  position  of  a  god  is  reared  from  a  cub  by 
the  village  chief,  and  the  female  most  distinguished  in 
rank  and  beauty  enjoys  the  honor  of  being  its  wet- 
nurse.  As  soon  as  the  bear  is  two  years  old,  he  is  car- 
ried in  a  cage  to  an  eminence  (previously  consecrated 
for  the  ceremony),  amid  shouts  of  joy  and  the  most  in- 
harmonious concert  of  various  noises  ever  heard  ;  while 
from  time  to  time  the  bereft  nurse  utters  the  most 
piercing  and  heart-  rending  cries,  expressive  of  her 
poignant  grief.  Afler  this  uproar  has  continued  for 
some  time,  the  chief  of  the  village  approaches  the  bear, 
and  with  an  arrow  gives  him  the  first  wound.  The  ani- 
mal, previously  maddened  by  the  din  around  him,  now 
becomes  furious,  the  cage  is  opened,  and  he  springs 
out  into  the  midst  of  the  assemblage.  Then,  at  a  sig- 
nal given  by  the  children  of  the  nurse,  everybody  in 
the  crowd  wounds  him  with  the  various  weapons  they 
have  brought  with  them,  each  one  striving  to  inflict  a 
wound  -•  as  all  believe  that  he  who  fails  to  wound  the 


7i8 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


bear  has  no  claim  to  any  favor  from  the  new  Kami,  or 
god.  As  soon  as  the  poor  animal  falls  down  exhausted 
from  the  loss  of  blood,  his  head  is  cut  off,  and  the  arrows, 
spears,  knives,  sticks,  and  in  fact  all  the  weapons  by 
which  he  has  been  wounded,  are  solemnly  presented  to 
the  headless  trunk  by  the  village  patriarch,  who  requests 
the  bear  to  avenge  himself  upon  the  weapons  by  which 
he  has  been  insulted  and  slain.  The  severed  head  is 
then  affixed  to  the  trunk,  and  the  dead  bear  is  car- 
ried to  the  altar,  where  the  Rama  Matsouri  (the  sacrifice 
of  the  bear)  commences  amid  various  solemnities,  such  as 
singing,  music,  and  offerings  consisting  of  everything 
the  Ainos  most  esteem.  The  nurse  meanwhile  deals 
blows  with  the  branch  of  a  tree  upon  every  one  who  has 
taken  part  in  the  bear's  death.  The  flesh  is  then  dis- 
tributed among  the  people,  and  the  head  is  placed  upon  a 
pole  opposite  the  hut  of  the  chief,  where  it  is  left  to 
decay. 

"  The  Ainos  entertain  great  fear  and  profound  respect 
for  strength  and  courage;  and  this  is  the  cause  of  their 
veneration  for  the  bear — the  strongest  and  fiercest  ani- 
mal known  to  them.  Their  most  energetic  comparison 
is  the  bear.  A  man  is  'strong  as  a  bear,'  'fierce  as  a 
bear,'  etc.  The  bear  is  the  burden  of  their  national 
songs,  and,  in  a  word,  this  animal  is  the  symbol  of  every- 
thing they  think  worthy  of  respect.  To  compare  an  Aino 
with  a  bear  is  the  surest  plan  to  gain  his  friendship;  and 
it  must  be  acknowledged  that  the  merit  the  Ainos  attach 
to  the  bear  is  more  or  less  deserved,  as  the  Yezzo  bear 
is  the  finest  specimen  of  his  species." 


MOHAMMEDANISM.  ^jg 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

MOHAMMEDANISM. 

Utter  the  scng,  O  my  soul !  the  flight  and  return  of  Mohammed, 
Prophet  and  priest,  who  scattered  abroad  both  evil  and  blessing, 
Huge  wasteful  empires  founded,  and  hallowed  slow  persecution, 
Soul-withering,  but  crushed  the  blasphemous  rites  of  the  Pagan. 

Samuel  Taylor  Coleridge, 

THE  story  of  the  idol  worship  of  the  world  would 
not  be  complete  without  having  described  that 
system  of  religion  which  began  as  an  opposition 
to  all  idolatry.  This  was  the  motive  that  led  Mohammed 
to  start  on  his  career  of  destroying  idols,  and  compelling 
their  worshipers,  at  the  sword's  point,  to  believe  in  the 
one  God.     Add  to  this  the  fact  that  this  religion  has  ex- 

o 

tended  far  beyond  the  bounds  of  its  birthplace,   and  it 
will  be  seen  to  be  well  worthy  of  our  attention. 

EXTENT   OF    MOHAMMEDANISM. 

There  are  from  150,000,000  to  180,000,000  of  Moham- 
medans, or  Moslems  (as  they  are  sometimes  called),  in 
the  world.  These  are  found  in  the  south-east  corner  of 
Europe,  and  are  scattered  over  Asia  and  Africa.  Arabia 
and  Turkey  are  the  Mohammedan  countries,  though  in 
Egypt  and  India,  and  even  in  China,  they  are  to  be  found 
by  the  hundreds  of  thousands.  This  system  is  a  prose 
lyting  one,  and  thus  has  come  to  spread  so  widely. 
Starting  with  but  a  handful  of  disciples,  the  followers  of 
Mohammed  include  more  than  one-tenth  of  the  human 
race.     Its  believers  are   true,  strong  believers,  holding 


JIO 


£A'J?OJ?'S   CHAINS, 


their  faith  with  firmness  and  fervor.  For  hundreds  of 
years  they  have  been  trying  to  bring  the  world  to  the 
faith  embodied  in  their  motto,  "God  is  God,  and  Mo- 
hammed is  His  Prophet."  Formerly,  in  great  armies, 
they  swept  over  Asia  and  Africa,  making  their  proselytes 
at  the  point  of  the  sword ;  to-day  they  borrow  Christian 
methods,  and  Moslem  missionaries  go  forth  to  preach  the 
Koran  (their  sacred  book),  and  thus  seek  to  extend  the 
dominion  of  Mohammed.  In  their  university  at  Cairo, 
10,000  students  are  gathered  to-day,  preparing  to 
go  as  the  missionaries  of  the  Moslem  faith.  A  cele- 
brated traveler  describes  this  university  thus :  "  This 
university  is  900  years  old  (older  than  Oxford),  and  still 
flourishes  with  as  much  vigor  as  in  the  palmy  days  of 
the  Arabian  Conquest.  There  I  saw  collected  together 
10,000  students.  As  one  expressed  it,  'there  were  two 
acres  of  turbans,'  assembled  in  a  vast  inclosure,  with  no 
floor  but  a  pavement,  and  with  a  roof  over  it,  supported 
by  400  columns,  and  at  the  foot  of  every  column  a 
teacher,  surrounded  by  his  pupils.  As  we  entered,  there 
rose  a  hum  of  thousands  of  voices,  reciting  the  Koran. 
These  students  are  not  only  from  Egypt,  but  from  all 
parts  of  Africa,  from  Morocco  to  Zanzibar.  They  come 
from  far  up  the  Nile,  from  Nubia  and  Soudan ;  and  from 
Darfour,  beyond  the  great  desert,  and  from  the  western 
coast  of  Africa.  Asia,  too,  is  largely  represented  in  stu- 
dents from  Western  Asia,  from  Turkey,  Arabia  and  Per- 
sia; and  from  Central  Asia,  from  Khiva,  and  Bokhara, 
and  Turkistan,  and  Afghanistan,  and  the  borders  of 
China.  They  live  on  the  charilies  of  the  faithful ;  and 
when  their  studies  are  ended,  those  who  are  to  be  mis- 
sionaries mount  their  camels,  and,  joining  a  caravan,  cross 
the  desert,  and  are  lost  in  the  far  interior  of  Africa."  And 
there,  we  should  say,  they  meet  our  no  less  faithful  and 


MOHAMMEDANISM. 


721 


ardent  Christian  missionaries,  who  are  laboring  to  elevate 
the  depraved  Africans.  These  carry  to  a  happy  comple- 
tion the  very  imperfect  work  which  Moslem  missionaries 
are  able  to  perform. 

Now  let  us  turn  to  the  story  of  the  man  who  founded 
Mohammedanism. 

THE    ARABIAN    CAMEL-DRIVER  WHO    FOUNDED    A    GREAT 
RELIGION. 

The  descendants  of  Ishmael  and  of  Abraham  have  in- 
habited uninterruptedly  a  land  inclosed  by  the  Red  Sea, 
the  Indian  Ocean,  the  Persian  Gulf,  the  Euphrates  River 
and  the  land  of  Syria.  There  are  a  few  fertile  valleys 
and  excellent  pastures  in  Arabia ;  but  a  great  part  of  the 
country  consists  of  bleak  wildernesses,  barren  hills  and 
wastes  of  sandy  deserts.  There  is  not  one  navigable 
river  in  the  whole  country.  Goods  are  carried  on  cam- 
els, whose  drivers  travel  in  groups  called  caravans.  The 
Arabs  are  a  simple  and  temperate  race,  quick  to  revenge, 
yet  exceedingly  hospitable.  The  great  majority  of  the 
people  in  the  interior  live  a  tent  life;  thus  they  are 
brought  Into  close  contact  with  nature,  and  are  reveren- 
tial and  imaginative.  From  their  out-door  life,  they  were 
early  Inclined  to  worship  the  sun,  moon,  planets  and  all 
the  hosts  of  heaven  and  ancrels.  Deslrlnor  a  visible  ob- 
ject  of  worship,  something  to  be  seen  and  felt,  they  made 
images  of  their  deities.  The  "  Black  Stone,"  in  the  Tem- 
ple of  the  Kaaba,  at  Mecca,  was  an  especially  honored 
object  of  worship.  This  stone,  about  six  Inches  by  eight, 
was  one  of  the  precious  stones  of  Paradise,  and  fell  down 
to  the  earth  with  Adam.  At  the  deluge,  it  was  taken  up 
again,  or  otherwise  preserved,  and  afterward  brought  by 
Gabriel  to  Abraham,  when  he  and  Ishmael  were  building 
the  Kaaba.     This  temple  was  placed  in  charge  of  on^ 


722 


ERROR'S    CHAINS. 


family.  In  the  year  570  A.  D.,  of  this  family  was  born  a 
child  named  Mohammed,  destined  to  affect  the  religious 
lite  of  hundreds  of  millions  of  his  fellovv-beincxs. 


TlIK    rKoriiETS    YOUTH    AND    EARLY    MANIIUOD. 

Miraculous  signs  were  said  to  have  attended  his  birth. 
For  five  years,  he  remained  away  from  his  mother ;  at 
the  end  of  that  time,  he  became  subject  to  epileptic  fits, 


MOHAMMEDANISM.  72" 

and  returned  to  his  home.  He  then  saw  the  multitude 
of  pilgrims,  with  their  camels  laden  with  spices  and  beau- 
tiful cloths,  coming  yearly  to  visit  Mecca,  and  undoubtedly 
was  impressed  with  the  sights  and  sounds  in  the  Kaaba. 

When  he  was  twelve  years  old,  an  event  occurred 
which  greatly  influenced  his  after  life.  With  his  uncle's 
caravan  he  journeyed  to  Palestine,  where  he  met  Jews 
and  Christians.  From  these  he  must  have  gained  that 
knowledge  of  the  Bible  which  he  used  in  his  teachinors  in 
after  years.  The  Jews,  from  the  day  when  God  cured 
them  of  idolatry,  by  sending  them  away  to  Babylon,  had 
persistently  opposed  the  worship  of  idols,  and  upheld 
and  urged  the  worship  of  the  one  true  God.  The 
Christians  were  such  in  name  only;  for,  with  their  ritual, 
crosses,  pictures,  vestments  and  images,  they  were  hardly 
better  than  the  idolaters  around  them.  But  Mohammed 
gained  only  a  superficial  knowledge  of  these  faiths,  and 
knew  almost  nothinof  of  their  leadin.o^  features. 

When  he  was  twenty-five  years  old  he  entered  the  ser- 
vice of  the  Khadija,  a  rich  widow  of  Mecca,  for  his  family 
was  poor.  She  appointed  him  as  a  camel-driver,  to  care 
for  the  caravans.  The  widow  soon  was  charmed  with 
the  noble  appearance  and  energetic  manliness  of  Mo- 
hammed, and  in  a  modest  way  led  him  to  seek  to  marry 
her.  The  marriage  was  a  happy  one,  and  Mohammed 
loved  his  wife  lonof  after  her  death,  even  to  his  old  aee. 
When  all  the  world  turned  its  back  upon  him  in  scorn, 
she  clung  to  him;  and  while  they  called  him  cheat  and 
impostor,  she  recognized  him  as  the  prophet  of  God. 
During  all  this  time  he  always  appeared  as  a  very  relig- 
ious and  upright  person.  Often  with  his  wife  he  retired 
to  a  cave,  about  three  miles  from  Mecca,  to  pray  and 
fast.  Here,  when  in  his  epileptic  fits,  it  is  claimed,  he  saw 
visions  and  received  revelations. 

44 


724 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


GABRIEL  S    MESSAGE   TO    MOHAMMED. 


In  his  fortieth  year,  he  was  spending  the  sacred  month 
in  the  cave.  One  night,  as  he  said,  there  appeared  "  one 
mighty  in  power,  endued  with  understanding,"  who  stood 
about  two  bows'  length  from  him.  It  was  the  angel  Ga- 
briel, who  held  a  silken  scroll  in  his  hand,  and  bade 
Mohammed  read  the  writing  thereon.  He  replied  that 
he  could  not;  then  Gabriel  said,  "Read  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord,  who  hath  created  all  things.  Read  by  the 
most  beneficent  Lord,  who  taught  the  use  of  the  pen ; 
who  teacheth  man  that  which  he  knoweth  not."  Then 
the  angel  rtew  away,  leaving  Mohammed  in  perplexity. 
After  a  time,  when  doubt  and  despondency  filled  his 
mind,  the  voice  of  the  angel  was  heard  speaking  from  a 
throne  midway  between  heaven  and  earth,  saying:  "O 
Mohammed !  thou  art  the  prophet  of  God,  and  I  am  Ga- 
briel." This  he  regards  as  his  commission,  and  straight- 
way tells  his  wife.  Secretly  he  commits  the  revelation 
made  him  to  various  persons,  and  after  four  years  gathers 
together  thirty  or  forty  converts.  Then  Gabriel  comes 
again,  and  brings  from  the  Lord  this  message:  "O  thou 
covered,  arise  and  preach,  and  magnify  the  Lord,  and 
clean  thy  garments,  and  fly  every  abomination."  He 
obeyed  this,  and  in  consequence  of  the  changes  he  urged, 
was  forced  to  suffer  persecution.  Even  his  relatives 
turned  against  him.  He  was  mocked  and  scorned,  and 
occasionally  abused.  His  disciples  suffered  with  him, 
and  so  he  sent  away  to  Abyssinia  eleven  of  them  as 
missionaries. 

At  first  his  teachings  had  not  been  uncompromising; 
but,  so  he  thought,  in  a  revelation  he  was  warned  that 
this  was  wrong,  and  he  proceeded  to  burn  the  bridges 
behind  him.     Of  some  of  the  idol  ofods  he  had  said: 


MOHAMMEDANISM. 


725 


"  Their  intercession  may  be  hoped  for  with  God."  After 
his  vision  he  said,  "These  are  no  other  than  empty 
names,  which  ye  and  your  fathers  have  made  gods." 
Then  the  idol  worshipers  turned  on  him;  he  was,  said 
they,  a  fool,  a  fanatic,  a  forger.  Then  they  ostracized 
him;  he  was  shut  out  from  their  homes  and  cut  off  from 
their  friendship.  To  escape  personal  violence  he  fled 
the  city,  mingling  with  the  pilgrims  from  distant  lands  as 
they  journeyed  to  Mecca,  and  preaching  to  them  his  doc- 
trines. Then  his  wife,  Khadija,  died.  Soon  after  this  he 
married,  and  was  betrothed  (in  his  fiftieth  year)  to  a 
child  of  seven  years,  as  it  is  the  custom  of  the  Arabs 
to  allow  a  man  to  marry  as  many  wives  as  he  might 
wish. 

Now  came  the  turn  of  the  tide ;  his  failing  fortunes 
began  to  rise  again.  A  few  pilgrims  from  Medina  were 
converted.  With  zeal  they  sought  to  spread  Mohammed's 
doctrine  on  their  return  home.  They  met  with  astonish- 
ing success,  and  soon  the  prophet's  name  was  in  every 
household  in  Medina,  and  the  motto,  "God  is  God,  and 
Mohammed  is  His  Prophet,"  was  heard  on  every  side. 
The  prophet  was  invited  to  go  and  live  in  Medina.  After 
a  year,  with  many  companions,  his  Medina  converts  re- 
turned to  him  at  Mecca,  and  again  pledged  their  fidelity. 

THE    FLIGHT   OF    MOHAMMED. 

On  the  20th  of  June,  A.  D.  622,  the  celebrated  "  Hejira," 
or  flight,  took  place.  From  this  day,  the  Mohammedans 
date  their  era,  as  Christians  do  from  the  birth  of  Christ. 
They  regard  this  as  the  most  momentous  event  of  their 
history,  for  from  this  time  forth,  Mohammed's  course  was 
one  of  constant  progress.  After  eight  days'  journey, 
they  arrived*  at  Medina,  and  in  great  pomp  made  a  tri- 
umphal entry  into  the  city.     He  waited  undl  his   camel 


726 


ERROR'S  CHAINS. 


voluntarily  knelt  and  there  built  his  house.  Then  a  temple, 
1 50  feet  square,  was  built ;  this  is  called  to-day  the  Mosque 
of  the  Prophet.  Here  a  simple  worship  was  established. 
Mohammed  was  now  married  to  Ayesha,  the  child  to  whom 
he  had  been  betrothed.  As  he  already  had  one  wife  he 
thus  indorsed  the  custom  of  having  many  wives.  This 
practice  and,  growing  out  of  it,  the  enormity  of  treating 
women  as  really  little  better  than  slaves,  are  the  conspic- 
uous blots  on  Mohammed's  career. 

CONVERTS    MADE    AT   THE    SWORD's    POINT. 

Mohammed  was  now  established  in  a  secure  position. 
His  prosperity  spoiled  him.  He  longed  for  greater  num- 
bers of  converts  than  he  could  make  by  preaching  simply, 
hence,  his  disordered  mind  prompted  him  to  see  a  vision 
in  which  he  was  directed  to  take  the  sword  to  compel 
converts.  In  one  of  the  sacred  months  he  sent  eigfht  of 
his  followers  to  waylay  a  Mecca  caravan.  One  man 
they  killed,  two  others  were  taken  prisoners  and  with 
their  booty  the  Mohammedans  returned  to  Medina.  The 
next  was  the  celebrated  battle  of  Badr,  when  a  troop  of 
Meccans  came  out  to  destroy  Mohammed  and  his  Medina 
followers,  but  were  themselves  destroyed.  Mohammed 
asserted  that  3.000  angels  fought  with  them,  and  that 
thus  they  gained  the  battle.  This  battle  placed  Moham- 
med where  he  could  command  (or  rather  demand)  un- 
hesitating obedience  from  his  followers.  Battle  after 
battle  followed,  and  converts  were  made  by  the  thousands. 
Mecca  was  subdued,  and  then  the  whole  of  Arabia.  To 
his  followers,  he  promised  Paradise  should  they  fall  in 
the  fight.  Said  they  to  him:  "It  is  hot."  He  replied: 
"Hell  is  hotter."  Mohammed  was  made  of  stern  stuff; 
his  indomitable  will  supported  him  in  his  g-reat  under- 
takings.    He  was  not  a  true  prophet,  neither  was  he  an 


MOHAMMEDANISM. 


727 


impostor.  His  religion  was  begun,  developed  and  com- 
pleted under  what  he  took  to  be  the  inspiration  of  God. 
To  all  appearance  he  was  sincere,  though  awfully  mis- 
taken.    He  believed  firmly  in  his  mission  and  in   the 


MOHAMMEDAN  CEMETERY  AT  MECCA. 

assistance  of  God  ;  he  never  faltered,  he  never  hesitated, 
he  went  straio-ht  forward. 

Thus,  until  his  sixty-second    year,  his   religion  kept 
growing,  embracing  an  increasing  territory  under  its  do- 


728  ERROR'S  CHAINS. 

minion.  At  this  time,  he  was  attacked  with  a  violent 
fever,  which  in  less  than  a  month  ended  his  life.  He  ex- 
claimed:  "Oh,  to  depart  and  be  near  the  Lord,"  "Eter- 
nity of  Paradise!"  "Pardon!"  and  then  the  Prophet  of 
Mecca  was  dead. 

Mecca  and  Medina  long  remained  the  strongholds,  the 
centres  of  Mohammedan  influence.  Mecca  especially 
became  the  Holy  Place  to  which  the  faithful  made  their 
pilgrimages,  and  in  the  cemetery  of  which  city  they  longed, 
at  last,  to  lie  in  death.  All  Mohammedans  turn  to  Mecca 
in  saying  their  prayers,  and  in  all  the.mosques,  by  a  niche 
or  by  some  other  means,  the  direction  of  Mecca  is  indi- 
cated as  a  guide  to  the  devotions  of  the  faithful  who 
assemble  there. 

Mohammed's  successors,  the  caliphs. 

After  Mohammed's  death,  his  bosom  friend,  Abu 
Bekr,  was  elected  to  be  his  successor,  called  the  Caliph. 
From  his  attachment  to  Mohammed  he  received  the  name 
of  "The  True."  The  name  Abu  Bekr  means  "  The  Father 
of  the  Virgin,"  and  was  given  him  because  Ayesha, 
his  daughter,  was  the  only  virgin  bride  of  Mohammed. 
The  office  of  Caliph  was  the  highest  that  could  be  held 
in  the  Mohammedan  world.  All  the  "Faithful"  recog- 
nized in  the  Caliph  both  the  temporal  and  spiritual  head. 
Abu  Bekr  proved  a  worthy  successor  to  Mohammed. 
He  put  down  the  Bedouin  rebellions,  which  began  imme- 
diately after  Mohammed's  death,  and  not  only  conquered 
them,  but  won  them  to  his  cause,  and  turned  their  fierce 
fanaticism  into  the  service  of  Mohammedanism.  Abu 
Bekr  was  a  man  of  the  purest  character,  and  had  the 
firmest  faith  in  Mohammed's  mission.  He  died  after  a 
reign  of  about  two  years  and  a  half,  and  Omar  became 
the  next  Caliph. 


MOHAMMEDANISM 


729 


CALIPH    OMAR. 


Under   Omar,   who   reigned   from   634  to  643  A.  D., 
Mohammedanism  spread  northward  and  westward.    Da- 


730 


ERROR'S  CHAINS. 


mascus  and  its  neighborhood,  then  Palestine,  and  finally 
all  Syria  yielded  to  him.  In  636  A.  D.,  Jerusalem  sur- 
rendered to  him.  "  Mounted  on  his  camel,  a  bag  of  dates 
and  a  skin  of  water  by  his  side — ample  provision  for  his 
simple  wants — he  made  his  entr)^  into  the  sacred  city." 
On  the  site  of  Solomon's  Temple,  he  built  the  "  Dome  of 
the  Rock,"  the  Mosque  of  Omar,  as  it  is  commonly,  but 
erroneously,  called  to  this  day.     The  Mosque  of  Omar 


MOSQUE  OF  OMAR,  ON  THE  SITE  OF  THE  JEWISH  TEMPLE,  AT  JERUSALEM. 

Stands  upon  an  artificial  plateau  called  the  Haram  area. 
This  is  sparingly  ornamented  with  cypress  and  other 
trees  and  fountains.  The  mosque  is  one  of  the  most 
prominent  belongings  of  Jerusalem.  It  is  second  in  im- 
portance only  to  the  Mosque  of  the  Kaaba  at  Mecca.  It 
is  170  feet  high,  and  536  feet  around  its  eight  sides.  In 
the  interior  is  a  gray  limestone  rock,  from  which  the 
mosque  sometimes  takes   its   name,  the   "  Dome  of  the 


MOHAMMEDANISM. 


731 


Rock."  This  stone  is  believed  by  the  Mohammedans  to 
have  "  descended  from  heaven  and  to  have  been  sus- 
pended in  the  air;  that  it  attempted  to  follow  the  Prophet 
on  his  ascension  to  Paradise,  but  was  kept  back  from  its 
native  quarry  by  the  angel  Gabriel,  who  left  his  large 
hand-prints  as  a  permanent  memorial  of  the  miracle!*" 


MOHAMMEDANS  PRAYIXf;  BEFORE  THE  MOSQUE  OF  OMAR. 

Persia  soon  yielded  to  Omar,  and  then  Egypt.  His  em- 
pire now  extended  from  Northern  Syria  to  Southern 
Arabia,  and  from  Eastern  Persia  to  Western  Egypt. 
Omar  was  the  first  Caliph  who  w^as  called  the  "  Prince  of 
the  Faithful."    Though  his  power  and  honor  wer  e  so  great, 


n^ 


EKROIi'S   CHAINS. 


"he  affected  no  regal  state,  was  the  friend  and  companion 
of  the  beggar  and  poor,  and  in  his  mud  palace,  at  Me- 
dina, was  ready  to  share  his  meal  with  the  humblest 
brother  of  the  faith."  Omar  was  killed  by  a  Persian 
slave.  He  was  succeeded  by  the  Caliph  Othman.  He 
reig-ned  amidst  ereat  turbulence  and  discontent  until  the 
year  654  A.  D.,  when  he  was  murdered.  The  next  Ca- 
liph, Ali,  who  reigned  till  660  A.  D.,  was,  likewise,  as- 
sassinated. Hassan,  the  next  Caliph,  was  poisoned  by 
his  wife.  Several  Caliphs,  Muavia  and  Hosein,  occupied 
the  throne  before  Valid  I.  reigned.  His  reign  extended 
from  705  to  716  A.  D.  Under  him  the  empire  of  the 
"  Prince  of  the  Faithful  "  attained  its  greatest  extent. 
It  then  extended  from  India  to  Spain.  Thus,  just  about 
one  hundred  years  from  the  time  when  Mohammed  had 
received  his  call  to  enter  upon  his  mission  as  the  Prophet 
of  God,  to  re-establisli  His  worship  and  to  destroy  idola- 
try, the' empire  which  he  had  founded,  and  the  religion  he 
had  started,  had  spread  over  Arabia,  Syria,  Asia  Minor, 
Spain,  part  of  Gaul  (now  France),  Egypt  and  Northern 
Africa,  and  over  Persia  and  Northern  India.  Soon  after 
this,  reigned  a  Caliph  whose  name  is  a  household  word 
among  us,  Haroun-al-Raschid,  of  whom  the  "  Arabian 
Nights"  has  so  much  to  say.  The  Caliph  preceding  him 
had  moved  his  capital  to  Bagdad.  As  the  first  calendar 
says,  in  the  "Arabian  Nights"  story,  "  Haroun-al-Ras- 
chid's  generosity  was  renowned  through  the  world." 
The  stories  tell  us  of  his  wandering  in  disguise  among 
his  people  to  ascertain  more  accurately  their  condition, 
and  thus  to  be  better  able  to  govern  them. 

Hitherto  the  Caliphate  has  been  held  by  Arabians; 
soon  after  Haroun-al-Raschid's  time,  it  passes  into  the 
hands  of  the  Turks.  They  have  retained  it  without  in- 
terruption down  to  the  present  day. 


MOHAMMEDANISM.  ^  ^  ^ 


THE    CRUSADES. 


Attempts  were  often  made  to  roll  back  the  tide  of 
Mohammedan  conquest,  but  without  avail.  Rebellions 
were  put  down  rapidly,  and  no  nation  from  without 
seemed  disposed  to  dispute  with  the  Mohammedans  their 
possession  of  the  conquered  countries.  But  in  the  year 
1096  A.  D.,  fired  by  the  desire  to  recover  the  land  of  the 
birthplace  of  Christ,  and  anxious  to  revenge  the  insults 
and  injuries  heaped  upon  the  Christian  pilgrims  to  the 
Holy  Land  by  the  Moslems,  led  the  Christians  of  West- 
ern Europe  to  determine  to  begin  a  Crusade.  The  Pope, 
Urban  II.,  aided  by  the  preaching  of  Peter  the  Hermit, 
succeeded  in  inducing  an  army  to  start  for  the  conquest 
of  Palestine.  They  seemed  to  succeed,  and  yet  theirs 
was  a  doubtful  victory.  They  reached  Jerusalem,  and 
slew  multitudes  of  the  Saracen  Moslems.  But  they 
could  not  retain  their  hold  upon  the  city.  A  second 
Crusade  was  undertaken  in  1 148  A.  D.,  but  utterly  failed 
to  accomplish  its  object.  St.  Bernard,  who  had  urged  on 
this  Crusade,  declared  that  it  had  failed  because  of  the 
sinfulness  of  the  Crusaders,  and  that  none  but  innocent 
hands  could  wrest  the  Holy  Land  from  the  Moslem 
hands  which  held  it.  So  in  1 2 1 2  began  the  Children's 
Crusade  ;  30,000  children,  under  the  boy-leader,  Stephen, 
and  20,000  German  boys  and  girls,  under  the  peasant- 
lad,  Nicholas,  started  for  the  conquest  of  Palestine,  only 
to  perish  by  sea  or  land,  or  to  be  carried  to  the  slave 
markets.  Two  other  Crusades  were  commenced,  but 
both  failed,  and  to-day  the  Holy  Land  is  under  the  do- 
minion of  the  Moslem  Turk.  The  religion  of  Moham- 
med is  still  spreading,  though  only  in  Africa.  It  obtained 
a  footinof  in  Western  China  some  time  aQfo,  and  more 
lately  spread  throughout  the  Indian  Archipelago. 


734 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


We   now  pass  to  consider  the   Mohammedan   Bible, 
known  as  the  Koran,  and  give  attention  to  its  teachings. 

THE    WRITING    OF    THE    KORAN. 

During  the  lifetime  of  Mohammed  no  attempt  was  made 
to  collect  the  multitudinous  revelations  constituting  the 
Koran  into  one  book.  The  various  passages  had  been 
written  down  from  his  lips,  from  time  to  time  at  their 
delivery,  by  some  friend  or  follower  performing  the  office 
of  amanuensis ;  or  they  had  been  first  committed  to 
memory,  and  then  at  some  subsequent  period  recorded. 
For  this  purpose  the  rude  materials  in  use  among  the 
Arabs  were  employed,  as  palm-leaves,  leather,  stone  tab- 
lets, or  the  shoulder-blades  of  oroats  and  camels.  There 
was  no  systematic  arrangement  of  these  materials.  There 
were,  indeed,  recognized  "Suras,"  or  chapters;  and  it 
seems  probable  that  the  greater  part  of  the  revelation 
was  so  arranged  during  the  Prophet's  lifetime,  and  used 
in  that  form  for  private  reading,  and  also  for  recitation 
at  the  daily  prayers.  Some  of  the  Suras  were  short  and 
self-contained ;  others  were  longer,  and  from  time  to 
time  were  added  to  by  the  command  of  Mohammed,  who 
would  direct  a  new  revelation  to  be  "  entered  in  the  Sura 
treating  of  such  and  such  a  subject."  There  was  no  fixed 
repository  for  these  materials ;  but  there  is  reason  to 
conjecture  that  the  greater  portion,  or  at  least  the  most 
important  chapters,  were  laid  up  in  the  habitation  of  one 
of  the  Prophet's  wives  (for  he  had  no  separate  room  or 
dwelling-place  of  his  own),  or  left  in  the  custody  of.  the 
scribes  or  secretaries  who  had  first  recorded  them.  They 
were,  moreover,  treasured  up  with  pious  reverence  in  the 
memories  of  the  people,  and  transcripts  of  the  several 
Suras  or  fragments,  especially  of  those  most  frequently 
in  use  for  meritorious  repetition,  or  for  public  and  pri- 


MOHAMMEDANISM. 


735 


vate  devotion,  were  even  before  the  Flight  in  the  hands 
of  many  persons,  and  so  preserved  with  rehgious  and 
even  superstitious  care.  As  the  Faith  extended,  teach- 
ers were  sent  forth  to  the  various  tribes  throughout 
Arabia  to  instruct  the  new  converts  in  the  requirements 
of  Islam ;  and  these  carried  with  them,  either  in  a  re- 
corded form  or  indelibly  imprinted  on  the  mind  (for  the 
Arab  memory  was  possessed  of  a  marvelous  tenacity), 
the  leading  portions  of  the  Mohammedan  Revelation. 

THE  TEACHING  OF  THE  KORAN. 

Sir  William  Muir,  one  of  the  first  expositors  of  the 
Koran,  thus  writes:  "The  teaching  of  the  Koran  is  very 
simple.  God  has  revealed  Himself  in  various  ages,  under 
different  dispensations,  through  the  instrumentality  of 
inspired  prophets.  The  dispensations  varied  in  outward 
and  accidental  form;  but  the  great  catholic  faith  in  the 
unity  of  God  and  Islam  (that  is,  submission  to  His  will), 
underlies  them  all.  The  truth  thus  successively  promul- 
gated was  as  often  lost  or  distorted  by  the  ignorance  and 
perversity  of  mankind.  The  mission  of  Mohammed  was  to 
establish  the  last  of  these  dispensations ;  and,  while  at 
first  professing  to  hold  that  his  own  teaching  was  simply 
concurrent  with  that  of  former  revelations,  in  the  end  he 
caused  it  to  obliterate  and  override  them  all. 

"The  first  condition  of  Islam  is  belief  in  the  creed; 
'There  is  no  God  but  the  Lord,  and  Mohammed  is  His 
Apostle.'  This  at  once  sweeps  away  idolaltry,  and  the 
'association  with  God'  of  other  objects  of  worship;  and  It 
also  establishes  the  Koran  as  the  paramount  rule  of  faith 
and  practice.  There  is  no  priesthood  in  Islam.  Man  deals 
immediately  with  the  Deity.  Mohammed  is  but  a  Prophet, 
himself  a  sinner  needing  mercy  and  forgiveness.  Salva- 
tion is  promised  to  the  believer;  but  he  is  at  the  same  time 


IZ^ 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


bound  to  abstain  from  evil,  and  to  do  good  works,  and,  in 
particular,  to  observe  the  ordinances  of  Islam.  These 
requirements,  though  few  and  simple,  pervade  the  whole 
life  of  a  Mussulman.  The  day  opens  with  prayer  at  the 
dawn ;  with  prayer  the  night  closes  in ;  and  the  ceremony 
is  repeated  three  other  times,  at  fixed  intervals,  during 
the  day.  Each  prayer  consists  of  two  or  more  series  of 
prostrations,  accompanied  by  ejaculatory  prayer  and  the 
recital  of  short  passages  of  the  Koran.  Then  there  are 
the  prescribed  tithes,  or  alms ;  the  fast  throughout  the 
whole  month  of  Ramodhan  (which,  though  rigorous  from 
dawn  to  sunset,  admits  of  entire  relaxation  by  night) ;  and 
the  pilgrimage  to  Mecca,  which,  although  not  'burden- 
some to  the  Arabs  for  whom  it  was  first  established,  is 
evidently  unsuitable  for  observance  by  all  mankind. 

"That  the  fate  of  man,  and  whatever  happens,  greater 
small,  has  been  fixed  by  inevitable  decrees  is  uncondi- 
tionally asserted  throughout  the  Koran.  The  doctrine 
is  often  intelligibly  urged  as  a  ground  of  resignation  and 
patience  under  misfortune,  of  equanimity  in  success,  and 
of  calmness  in  danger;  but  it  is  not  confined  to  such  in- 
nocent and  legitimate  purposes.  The  dogma  is  con- 
stantly obtruded  in  its  most  naked  and  offensive  form : 
*God  misleadeth  whom  He  pleaseth,  and  guideth  whom 
He  pleaseth  aright'  'We  created  man  upright,  and  then 
caused  him  to  be  the  vilest  of  the  vile.'  'The  fate  of 
every  man  have  we  bound  about  his  neck ;'  and  so 
forth.  But  while  there  is  nothing  to  be  met  with  in  the 
Koran  expressly  of  an  opposite  tenor,  there  is  much  that 
by  implication  conveys  the  sentiment  of  free  will.  Prayer 
is  continually  enjoined.  It  was  practiced  by  Mohammed 
himself,  and  deliverance  is  often  ascribed  to  its  effect. 
Men  are  exhorted  to  believe  and  do  good  works.  They 
are  warned  against  infidelity  and  sin,  'lest  they  cast  them- 


MOHAMMEDANISM.  -  ,  y 

selves  into  perdition.'  Salvation,  indeed,  is  dependent 
on  faith,  and  faith  upon  the  will  of  God;  yet  there  are 
not  wanting  passages  which  speak  of  man  as  choosing 
the  wrong  or  choosing  the  right,  and  of  Paradise  or  hell 
as  the  consequence.  The  believer  is  frequently  bid  to 
beware  of  the  wiles  of  Satan.  Discretion  in  the  follow- 
ing of  good  or  evil  is  implied  in  many  parts  of  the  Koran, 
and  retribution  set  forth  as  the  result  of  its  exercise. 
Man  is  responsible  for  his  own  sin  only.  'The  burdened 
soul  shall  not  bear  the  burthen  of  another.'  Hereditary 
taint  from  the  fall  is  nowhere  admitted,  Adam  fell,  it 
is  true,  by  eating  the  forbidden  fruit ;  but  his  fall  (as  it 
would  appear)  was  the  consequence,  not  the  cause  of  the 
proneness  of  his  nature  to  sin.  All  men  have  sinned, 
but  it  has  been  each  his  own  fault,  acting  independently, 
and  not  because  of  anything  antecedent." 

SOME    SELECTIONS    FROM    THE    KORAN. 

We  first  present  one  oi  the  passages  in  which  refer- 
ence is  made  to  Jesus  Christ.     In  the  ninth  Sura,  the 
Koran  says :   "  Fight  against  them  who  believe   not  in 
God,  nor  in  the  last  day,  and  forbid  not  that  which  God 
and  His  apostle  have  forbidden,  and  profess  not  the  true 
religion,  of  those  unto  whom  the  Scriptures  have  been 
delivered,  until  they  pay  tribute  by  right  of  subjection, 
and  they  be  reduced  low.     The  Jews  say  Ezra  is  the  son 
of  God;  and  the  Christians  say,  Christ  is  the  son  of  God. 
This   is  their  saying  in  their  mouths:  they  imitate  the 
saying  of  those  who  were  unbelievers  in  former  times. 
May  God  resist  them.     How  are  they  Infatuated  !    They 
take  their  priests  and  their  monks  for  their  lords,  besides 
God,  and   Christ,  the  son  of  Mary;  although  they  are 
commanded  to  worship  one  God  only:  there  is  no  God 
but  He ;  far  be  that  from  Him,  which  they  associate  with 


738 


EJiROK'S   CHAINS. 


Him !  They  seek  to  extinguish  the  light  of  God  with 
their  mouths ;  but  God  willeth  no  other  than  to  perfect 
His  Hght,  although  the  infidels  be  averse  thereto.  It  is 
He  who  hath  sent  His  apostle  with  the  direction  and 
true  religion ;  that  He  may  cause  it  to  appear  superior 
to  every  other  religion;  although  the  idolators  be  averse 
thereto.  O,  true  believers,  verily  many  of  the  priests 
and  monks  devour  the  substance  of  men  in  vanity,  and 
obstruct  the  way  of  God.  But  unto  those  who  treasure 
up  gold  and  silver,  and  employ  it  not  for  the  advance- 
ment of  God's  true  religion,  denounce  a  grievous  pun- 
ishment. On  the  day  of  judgment  their  treasures  shall 
be  intensely  heated  in  the  fire  of  hell,  and  their  fore- 
heads, and  their  sides,  and  their  backs  shall  be  stigma- 
tized therewith;  and  their  tormentors  shall  say.  This  is 
what  ye  have  treasured  up  for  your  souls;  taste  there- 
fore that  which  ye  have  treasured  up." 

The  Koran  says  of  idols :  "  Omen,  a  parable  is  pro- 
pounded unto  you;  wherefore  hearken  unto  it.  Verily, 
the  idols  which  ye  invoke,  besides  God,  can  never  create 
a  single  fly,  although  they  were  all  assembled  for  that 
purpose:  and  if  the  fly  snatch  anything  from  them,  they 
cannot  recover  the  same  from  it." 

Mohammed's  paradise. 

Sura  LVI.,  of  the  Koran,  says:  "These  are  they  who 
shall  approach  near  unto  God:  they  shall  dwell  in  gar- 
dens of  delight.  Reposing  on  couches  adorned  with 
gold  and  precious  stones ;  sitting  opposite  to  one  an- 
other thereon.  Youths  which  shall  continue  in  their 
bloom  for  ever,  shall  go  round  about  to  attend  them, 
with  goblets,  and  beakers,  and  a  cup  of  flowing  wine : 
their  heads  shall  not  ache  by  drinking  the  same,  neither 
shall  their  reason  be  disturbed :  and  with  fruits  of  the 


MOHAMMEDANISM.  «  ^q 

sorts  which  they  shall  choose,  and  the  flesh  of  birds 
of  the  kind  which  they  shall  desire.  And  there  shall 
accompany  them  fair  damsels  having  large  black  eyes, 
resembling  pearls  hidden  in  their  shells,  as  a  reward 
for  that  which  they  shall  have  wrought.  They  shall  not 
hear  within  any  vain  discourse,  or  any  charge  of  sin; 
but  only  the  salutation,  Peace !  Peace !  And  the  com- 
panions of  the  right  hand  (how  happy  shall  the  compan- 
ions of  the  right  hand  be !)  shall  have  their  abode  among 
lote-trees  free  from  thorns,  and  trees  of  many,  loaded 
regularly  with  their  produce  from  top  to  bottom  ;  under 
an  extended  shade,  near  a  flowing  water,  and  amidst 
fruits  in  abundance,  which  shall  not  fail,  nor  shall  be  for- 
bidden to  be  gathered :  and  they  shall  repose  themselves 
on  lofty  beds.  Verily,  we  have  created  the  damsels  of 
Paradise  by  a  peculiar  creation ;  and  we  have  made  them 
virgins  beloved  by  their  husbands,  of  equal  age  with 
them;  for  the  delight  of  the  companions  of  the  right 
hand.  There  shall  be  many  of  the  former  religions,  and 
many  of  the  latter.  And  the  companions  of  the  left  hand 
(how  miserable  shall  the  companions  of  the  left  hand 
be  !)  shall  dwell  amidst  burning  winds  and  scalding  water, 
under  the  shade  of  a  black  smoke,  neither  cool  nor 
agreeable." 

THE    KORAN    ON    THE    JUDGMENT. 

Sura  LXXXI.  says :  "  When  the  sun  shall  be  folded 
up;  and  when  the  stars  shall  fall;*  and  when  the  moun- 
tains shall  be  made  to  pass  away;  and  when  the  camels 
ten  months  gone  with  young  shall  be  neglected;  and 
when  the  wild  beasts  shall  be  gathered  together ;  and 

*  Bayard  Taylor  writes  thus  : 

"  Till  the  sun  grows  cold 
And  the  stars  are  old 
And  the  leaves  of  the  Judgment  Book  unfold." 

45 


740 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


when  the  seas  shall  boil;  and  when  the  souls  shall  be 
joined  again  to  their  bodies;  and  when  the  girl  who  hath 
been  buried  alive  shall  be  asked  for  what  crime  she  was 
put  to  death;  and  when  the  books  shall  be  laid  open; 
and  when  the  heavens  shall  be  removed;  and  when  hell 
shall  burn  fiercely;  and  when  Paradise  shall  be  brought 
near;  every  soul  shall  know  what  it  hath  wrought." 


MOHAMMEDAN  MOSQUES  AND  WORSHIP. 


741 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

MOHAMMEDAN    MOSQUES    AND    WORSHIP. 

One  silver  crescent  in  the  twilight  sky  is  hanging, 

Another  tips  the  solemn  dome  of  yonder  mosque, 
And  now  the  Muezzin's  call  is  heard,  sonorous,  clanging, 

Through  thronged  bazaar,  concealed  harem  and  cool  kiosk: 
'•'In  the  Prophet's  name,  God  is  God,  and  there  is  no  other." 
On  roofs,  in  streets,  or  closets,  beside  his  brother. 
Each  Moslem  kneels,  his  forehead  turned  toward  Mecca's  shrine, 
And  all  the  world  forgotten  in  the  one  thought  divine. 

William  Rounseville  Alger. 

''La  Illah  il'  Allah  !"   the  Muezzin's  call, 
Comes  from  the  minaret,  slim  and  tall, 
That  looks  o'er  the  distant  city  wall. 

"La  Illah  il'  Allah  !"   the  Faithful  heed. 
With  God  and  the  Prophet  this  hour  to  plead. 
Whose  ear  is  open  to  hear  their  need. 

Bayard  Taylor. 

THE  Mohammedan  mosques  vary  somewhat  in 
their  style  of  architecture  in  different  countries. 
Their  builders  borrowed,  generally,  from  the  style 
of  the  various  nations  who  adopted  the  Moslem  faith.  In 
Christian  lands,  they  seized  upon  the  Christian  churches 
or  cathedrals,  and  turned  them  into  mosques ;  in  India, 
the  mosques  are  patterned  after  the  temples  of  the  Bud- 
dhist Jains  (this  may  be  seen  in  the  Mohammedan  mosque 
on  the  Hooghly  River,  near  Calcutta) ;  and  in  Turkey, 
they  accepted  the  model  of  the  Byzantine  architecture  of 
Constantinople.  Two  or  three  features  are  common  in 
all.     The  dome  is  one  of  the  most  common  ana  most 


742 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


beautiful  features  of  the  mosques.  Sometimes  there  is 
an  open  square  in  each  mosque,  in  the  centre  of  which  is 
a  tank  or  fountain,  for  the  washing  required  in  Moham- 
medan worship.      Arabesques  and   sentences  from  the 

Koran  are  in- 
scribed upon 
the  walls;  and 
never  is  there 
an  image  or 
picture  of  any 
livingr  thinof  to 
be  discovered 
in  any  part  of 
a  mosque. 
Sometimes, 
the  floors  are 
covered  with 
mats  or  rugs; 
there  are  no 
pews,  seats  or 
benches,  for 
the  worshiper 
sits,  in  Ori- 
ental fashion,, 
with  his  feet 
doubled  u  n- 
der  him,  upoa 

the  floor.  In  one  corner — the  south-east — is  a  pulpit 
for  the  Imam  or  teacher.  The  Imam  is  the  most  honored 
of  Moslem  teachers,  and  always  wears  a  turban  higher 
than  that  of  the  common  teachers,  readers  or  Moslems 
generally.  The  people  hold  them  in  great  reverence. 
In  the  direction  of  Mecca,  there  is  a  niche  in  every 
mosque,  toward  which  the  faithful  must  look  whenever 


MOHAMMEDAN  MOSQUE  ON  THE  HOOGHLY  RIVER,  NEAR 
CALCUTTA,  INDIA. 


i 


GORGEOUS  EXTERIOR  OF  AfX. 


^ 


♦<£'  N  MOSQUE  IN  PERSIA, 


MOHAMMEDAN  MOSQUES  AND   WORSHIP. 


747 


INTERIOR  OF  MOSQUE  AT  DELHI.  INDIA. 


they  pray.  Opposite  the  pulpit  is  a  platform  having  ;i 
reading-desk,  upon  which  is  a  copy  of  the  Koran — in 
Arabic,  of  course — for  the  Moslems  never  allow  the  Ko- 
ran to  be  translated ;  and  as  to  printing  it,  that  is  not 
permitted 
them,  except 
from  litho- 
graphs, so  as 
to  keep  up  the 
appearance 
that  it  is  wi^it- 
ten.  No  copy 
for  a  public 
reading  would 
be  allowed  to 

be  printed.  Publication  in  the  languages  Is  not  permitted, 
•except  far  away  from  Arabia.  It  would  be  thought  grossly 
unholy  in  Turkey  to  attempt  such  a  thing. 

WORSHIP    IN    THE    MOSQUES. 

The  congregations  of  the  faithful  gather  for  worship 
in  the  mosques  on  Fridays.  This  is  the  Moslem  Sab- 
bath, because,  say  they,  Adam  was  created  and  died  on 
Friday,  and  because  on  Friday  the  world  will  be  judged. 
The  worship  consists  simply  of  prayers  and  washings, 
"with  an  occasional  sermon  on  a  text  from  the  Koran. 
During  the  service  every  one  maintains  the  utmost  sol- 
emnity ;  though,  after  the  service  they  lounge,  chat  and 
even  make  bargains  in  the  sacred  buildinof.  On  entering 
the  mosque,  the  Moslem  removes  his  shoes,  carrying 
them  in  his  left  hand,  sole  to  sole,  with  great  care,  putting 
his  right  foot  first  over  the  threshold.  He  then  goes 
through  with  the  necessary  ablutions  (often  a  mere  sham, 
a  mere  going  through  the  motions,)  and  takes  his  place 


748 


ERROJi'S   CHAINS. 


upon  the  matting,  laying  his  shoes  before  him.  The  wor- 
shipers generally  arrange  themselves  in  rows  facing  the 
niche  toward  Mecca.  Women  seldom  go  to  the  mosques, 
and  if  they  do,  they  sit  apart  from  the  men.  The  reason 
for  this  is  that  the  Koran  does  not  say  that  women  must 
pray,  and  many  Moslems  believe  that  women  have  no 
souls.  Yet  they  believe  that  they  will  enter  Paradise, 
but  this  is   only  that  they  may  continue   to  be   slaves  of 


INTERIOR  OF  MOSQUE  OF  ST.  SOPHIA. 

men  ;  each  of  the  faithful  is  to  have  in  Paradise,  so  they 
believe,  80,000  slaves  and  72  wives,  in  addition  to  those 
he  had  in  life  and  who  evinced  a  faithful  spirit. 

DANCING    AND    HOWLING    DERVISHES. 

The  Dervishes  are  Mohammedan  monks.  They  are 
among  the  most  curious  devotees  of  the  Moslem  religion. 
They  perform  their  wonderful  feats  on  Friday  afternoons 
in  the  mosques.  Dr.  Philip  Schaff  writes  of  one  of  their 
performances  which  he  witnessed:  "After  the  preliminary 


MOHAMMEDAN  MOSQUES  AND   WORSHIP. 


749 


exercises  of  prayer  and  prostration,  they  whirl  around  on 
their  toes,  ring  within  ring,  without  touching  each  other, 
for  about  an  hour,  until  they  are  utterly  exhausted.  I 
saw  thirteen  of  them  all  dressed  in  flowing  gowns,  and 


A  WHIRLING  DERVISH. 


with  high  white  hats  of  stiff  woolen  stuff;  their  hands 
were  stretched  or  raised  to  heaven,  their  eyes  half  closed, 
and  their  minds  apparently  absorbed  in  the  contempla- 


750 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


tion  of  Allah.  They  made  about  forty  or  fifty  turnings  a 
minute.  The  Howling  Dervishes  swing  their  heads  up 
and  down,  crying  incessantly  with  all  their  might, '  La  Ilaha, 
ill'  Allah!'  and  some  other  phrases,  until  they  are  stopped 
by  sheer  exhaustion."  All  this  is  done  for  the  same 
reasons  for  which  the  Fakirs  of  India,  and  the  devotees 
of  other  nations  torment  their  bodies. 

THE    SMART    AND    SMARTING    ANSWER    OF    A    DERVISH. 

In  the  north-west  provinces  of  India  there  lived  a  Der- 
vish who  was  never  guilty  of  using  his  tongue  too  freely 
in  conversation.  If  a  nod  or  a  sign  would  do,  he  would 
spare  his  words.  He  was  considered  a  quiet,  inoffensive, 
but  shrewd  man.  He  went  by  the  name  of  "  the  holy 
Dervish." 

In  the  same  place  there  lived  a  rich,  native  gentleman, 
good-natured,  but  given  now  and  then  to  frolics. 

One  day  he  proposed  to  some  friends  to  go  together 
and  pay  the  holy  Dervish  a  visit.  "I  wish,"  the  gentle- 
man said,  "  to  puzzle  him  with  three  questions  which  he 
will  never  be  able  to  answer."  They  found  the  holy  man 
sitting  near  his  hut  in  a  newly-plowed  field. 

The  Mohammedan  gentleman  w^alked  up  to  him,  and 
with  great  mock  humility  said  unto  him,  "  Holy  father,  I 
am  troubled  with  three  questions;  will  you  kindly  answer 
them  to  me  ?"     The  Dervish  gave  an  affirmative  nod. 

The  gentleman  began.  "The  first  question,  holy 
father,  is  about  God.  People  say  that  there  is  a  God  ; 
but  I  cannot  see  Him,  and  no  one  can  show  Him  to  me, 
and  therefore,  I  cannot  believe  that  there  is  a  God.  Will 
you  answer  this  question?"  A  nod  was  the  answer  of 
the  Dervish. 

".My  second  question,"  the  gentleman  continued,  "is 
about  Satan.     The  Koran  says  that  Satan  is  created  of 


MOHAMMEDAN  MOSQUES  Ai\u   WORSHIP.  yci 

fire.  Now,  if  Satan  be  created  of  fire,  how  can  hell-fire 
hurt  him  ?     Will  you  explain  that  too  ?"    A  nod. 

"  The  third  question  refers  to  myself.  It  is  said  in  the 
Koran,  that  every  action  of  man  is  decreed ;  now,  if  it 
be  decreed  that  I  must  commit  a  certain  acdon,  how  can 
God  bring  me  into  judgment  for  that  acdon.  Himself 
having  decreed  it?     Please,  holy  father,  answer  me." 

A  nod  was  given  by  the  Dervish,  and  whilst  the  party 
were  standing  and  gazing  at  him,  he  quiedy  seized  a  clod 
from  the  newly-plowed  field  and  sent  it  with  all  his 
might  at  the  gendeman's  face.  The  gendeman  became 
furious,  and  had  the  Dervish  carried  before  the  judge. 

Arriving  in  court  the  gendeman  stated  his  complaint, 
saying  the  pain  in  his  head  was  so  severe  that  he  hardly 
knew  how  to  bear  it. 

The  judge  looked  at  the  Dervish,  and  asked  whether 
these  things  were  so  ?  A  nod  was  the  reply ;  but  the 
judge  said,  "  Please  explain  yourself,  for  nods  will  not  do 
in  my  court." 

The  Dervish  replied,  "This  gentleman  came  to  me 
with  his  companions,  and  asked  three  questions  which  I 
carefully  answered." 

"  He  did  no  such  thing,"  the  gentleman  exclaimed ;  "  a  clod 
of  earth  he  threw  into  my  face — and  oh,  how  it  pains  me !" 

The  judge  looked  at  the  Dervish,  and  said,  '*  Explain 
yourself." 

"I  will,"  was  the  answer.  "Please,  your  honor,  this 
gentleman  said  to  me  that  people  maintained  that  there 
was  a  God,  but  he  could  not  see  Him,  nor  could  any  one 
show  him  God,  and  therefore  he  could  not  believe  that 
there  was  a  God.  Now  he  says  he  has  pain  in  his  face 
from  the  clod  I  threw  at  him,  but  I  cannot  see  his 
pain.  Will  your  honor  kindly  ask  him  to  show  us  his 
pain,  for  how  can  I  believe  he  has  any  if  I  cannot  see  it?" 


752 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


"  Again,  this  gentleman  asked,  that  if  Satan  was  cre- 
ated of  fire,  how  could  hell-fire  hurt  him?  Now,  the 
gentleman  will  admit  that  Father  Adam  was  created  of 
earth,  and  that  himself  also  is  earth.  Now  if  he  be  earth, 
how  could  a  clod  of  earth  hurt  him  ?" 

And  as  to  the  third  question,  the  Dervish  drew  him- 
self up  and  said  with  great  dignity,  "Sir,  if  it  be  written 
in  my  fate  to  throw  a  clod  at  this  gentleman's  face,  how 
can  and  dare  he  bring  me  before  the  judge?" 

The  judge  allowed  that  the  Dervish  had  answered  the 
three  questions  with  his  clod,  but  admonished  him  to  an- 
swer questions  in  future  in  a  more  becoming  way,  as  he 
might  not  be  able  to  get  himself  off  so  easily  from  the 
usual  penalties  at  another  time. 

DAILY    WORSHIP. 

Five  times  daily  the  Moslem  says  his  prayers.  On  the 
ship,  in  the  street,  in  the  house  or  store,  wherever  he 
may  be,  and  forgetful  of  all  his  surroundings,  at  the  hour 

of  prayer  he  spreads  his 
mat,  sits  upon  it,  turning 
his  face  toward  Mecca,, 
raises  his  hands  to  heaven, 
then  bends  until  his  fore- 
head almost  touches  the 
ground.  His  prayer  is, 
generally,  a  recital  of  the 
^ftSPfWI^H!^^^^"^^^^^  ^^^^  chapter  of  the  Koran. 
SlSBS^^lH^^^  ^^^^R    rhe  five  hours  of  prayer 

are,  first,  between  day- 
break and  sunrise,  a  litde 
past  noon,  in  the  after- 
noon, four  minutes  after  sunset,  and  at  night-fall.  The 
times   of  prayer   are    announced   from   the   minaret,  or 


MOSLEM  BOY  STUDYING  THE  KORAN. 


MOHAMMEDAN  MOSQUES  AND   WORSHIP. 


753 


tower,  of  each  mosque,  by  the  Muezzin,  one  of  the  under- 
officers  of  the  mosque.  He  chants  the  words  "Allah 
is  great.  I  testify  that  there  is  no  God  but  Allah.  I  tes- 
tify that  Mohammed  is  the  apostle  of  Allah.  Come  to 
prayer.  Come  to  security.  Allah  is  most  great.  There 
is  no  Deity  but  Allah!"  In  the  morning  he  adds, 
"  Prayer  is  better  than  sleep."  At  night,  for  the  sake  of 
the  very  pious,  two  extra  calls  for  prayer  are  sounded. 
Blind  men  are  often  chosen  to  be  Muezzins,  because  the 
high  position  of  the  minaret  would  enable  one  who  could 
see  to  get  too  full  a  view  of  the  interior  of  the  neigh- 
boring houses  and  harems.  The  faithful  from  earliest 
childhood  are  required  to  be  diligent  students  of  the 
Koran. 

THE    MOSQUE    OF    ST.    SOPHIA, 


One   of  the  most  celebrated  mosques  is  that  of  St. 


MOSQUE  OF  ST   SOPHIA,  AT  CONSTANTINOPLE,  TURKEY. 

Sophia,  at  Constantinople.     This  was  once  a  Christian 
cathedral.     It  was    originally  built   by  Constantine  the 


754 


ERROR'S    CHAIN'S. 


Great,  in  325  A.  D.  It  was  destroyed  in  404  A.  D.,  re- 
built, and  again  destroyed  in  532.  After  this  Justinian 
restored  it.  It  took  seven  years  to  build  it.  Ten  thou- 
sand workmen  were  employed  in  its  erection.  It  was 
built  of  materials  Q-athered  from  all  over  the  Roman 
Empire,  and  comprised  remains  of  almost  every  cele- 
brated heathen  temple  of  ancient  times.  The  dome  of 
the  tabernacle  was  of  solid  gold,  and  was  surmounted  by 
a  solid  golden  cross,  encrusted  with  precious  stones,  in 
all  weighing  seventy-five  pounds.  The  whole  cathedral  is 
said  to  have  cost  more  than  *^65,ooo,ooo  (Mr.  Neale's 
estimate,  in  his  volume  on  the  "  Eastern  Church.") 
In  the  year  1453  A.  D.,  when  the  Turks  entered  Con- 
stantinople, they  appropriated  this  cathedral  for  a 
mosque.  The  Christian  emblems  were  removed,  de- 
stroyed or  covered  up  with  plaster;  the  crosses  were 
chiseled  out  of  the  walls ;  the  great  cross  on  the  summit 
of  the  dome  was  removed,  and  the  crescent  took  its 
place.  The  crescent  is  a  half  moon,  with  the  horns 
turned  upward.  It  is  the  distinctive  Turkish  emblem, 
and,  in  some  sense,  the  Mohammedan  symbol  also. 

THE    JUMMAH    MUSJID    AT    DELHI,  INDIA. 

In  Delhi  itself  is  probably  the  finest  Mohammedan 
mosque  in  all  India,  This  is  called  the  Jummah  Musjid 
(the  Pearl  Mosque).  It  is  built  entirely  of  sandstone,  and 
is  raised  upon  a  high  terrace.  This  masterpiece  of  Indo- 
Mohammedan  architecture  is  the  most  venerable  monu- 
ment of  the  Moslems  in  India.  Vivid  thouo-h  severe 
colors  clothe  every  part  of  the  building.  After  mounting 
long  flights  of  steps,  the  visitor  passes  through  huge 
bronze  doors  into  a  large,  open  court,  with  a  fountain  in 
its  centre.  At  one  side  is  a  piece  of  black  marble,  in 
which  is  the  print  of  Mohammed's  foot — at  least,  the  priests 


MOHAMMEDAN  MOSQUES  AND   WORSHIP. 


755 


say  so.     In  the  interior,  the  roof,  pillars  and  pavement 
are  of  the   purest  white  marble,  embroidered  with  finest 


arabesques.  These  arabesques  are  romDOsed  of  colored 
marbles,  and  precious  stones  inlaid  in  the  marble  in  vari- 
ous patterns  of  scroll-work  or  of  inscription.      Bishop 


^^.  ERROR'S    CI/A/XS. 

Hebersaldof  this  structure:  "This  spotless  sanctuary, 
showinc^   such   a   pure   spirit  of  adoration,   made   me,  a 


Christian,  feel  humbled,  when  I  considered  that  no  archi- 
tect of  our  relisjion  had  ever  been  able  to  produce  any- 


MOHAMMEDAN  MOSQUES  AND   WORSHIP. 


757 


TOWER  OF  THE  KOUTUB,  INDIA. 


758 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


thing  equal  to  this  temple  of  Allah."     But  the  worship  is 
not  now  so  pure.     The  building  is  reverenced  by  the 
Mohammedans,  not  merely  on  account  of  its  age  or  won- 
drous beauty,   but  because   it  contains  a  most  highly- 
esteemed  relic  of  Mohammed.     From  a  small  nook  of 
solid  marble,  with   a   carefully-locked   door,  the   priests 
take,  for  the  inspection  of  visitors  and  devotees,  a  small 
silver  case ;    with  slowest,  most  cautious  reverence,  the 
casket  is  unlocked,  and   the   priest  exposes  to  view — a 
hair  from  Mohamjued' s  beard.     What  would  that  fierce 
hater  of  relics  and  idols,  Mohammed,  say,  could  he  but 
see  how  far  his  modern  disciples  have  departed  from  his 
teachings  ?     Besides  the  hair,  they  retain  as  relics  a  gar- 
ment and  a  pair  of  sandals  which  once  belonged  to  the 
prophet. 

Delhi  is  to  the  Moslems  of  India  what  Mecca  is  to  the 
Moslems  of  Arabia  and  Egypt.  The  city  is  surrounded 
by  walls  seven  miles  in  extent.  In  the  suburbs  one  rides 
through  miles  of  ruins  of  mosques,  towers  and  tombs. 
Few  cities  have  had  as  splendid  a  career  as  Delhi,  and  few 
have  suffered  as  greatly.  One  of  the  marks  of  the  Mo- 
hammedan conquest  in  India,  600  years  ago,  is  the  giant 
tower  of  the  Koutub,  near  Agra.  It  is  the  highest  tower, 
standing  alone,  in  the  world ;  built  of  red  sandstone, 
fluted,  and  has  five  stories.  The  mention  of  Agra  recalls 
one  of  the  most  famous  structures  of  the  world,  erected 
by  a  Moslem  Mogul  of  India.  Shortly  after  a  visit  to  this 
famous  Mohammedan  monument.  Dr.  H.  M.  Field  wrote 
the  accompanying  description  of  it  and  of  his  visit  : 

THE    TAJ    MAHAL,    THE    "  JEWEL   OF    INDIA." 

The  jewel  of  India — the  Koh-i-noor  of  its  beauty — is 
the  Taj,  the  tomb  built  by  the  Emperor  Shah  Jehan,  the 
grandson  of  Akbar,  for  his  wife,  whom  he  loved  with  an 


^WHAMMEDAN  MOSQUES  AND   WORSHIP. 


759 


idolatrous  affection,  and  on  her  death-bed  promised  to 
rear  to  her  memory  such  a  mausoleum  as  had  never  been 


TAJ  MAHAL,  THE  TOMB  OF  THE  EMPRESS  MUMTAJ  MAHAL,  AT  AGRA,  INDIA. 

erected  before.  To  carry  out  his  purpose,  he  gathered 
architects  from  all  countries,  who  rivaled  each  other  in 
the  extravagance  and  costliness  of  their  designs.     The 


46 


760 


ERROR'S  CHAINS. 


result  was  a  structure  which  cost  fabulous  sums  of  money 
(the  whole  empire  being  placed  under  contribution  for  it, 
as  were  the  Jews  for  the  Temple  of  Solomon),  and  em- 
ployed 20,000  workmen  for  seventeen  years.  The  build- 
ing thus  erected  is  one  of  the  most  fam-ous  in  the  world 
— like  the  Alhambra  or  St  Peter's — and  of  which  enthu- 
siastic travelers  are  apt  to  say  that  it  is  worth  going 
around  the  world  to  see.  This  would  almost  discourage 
the  attempt  to  describe  it,  but  I  will  try  and  give  some 
faint  idea  of  its  marvelous  beauty. 

But  how  can  I  describe  to  others  what  is  but  a  picture 
in  my  memory?  Descriptions  of  architecture  are  apt  to 
be  vague,  unless  aided  by  pictorial  illustrations.  Mere 
figures  and  measurements  are  dry  and  cold.  The  most 
I  shall  aim  at  will  be  to  give  a  general  (but  I  hope  not 
indistinct)  impression  of  it.  For  this,  let  us  approach  it 
gradually. 

It  stands  on  the  banks  of  the  Jumna,  a  mile  below  the 
tort  at  Agra.  As  you  approach  it,  it  is  not  exposed  ab- 
ruptly to  view,  but  is  surrounded  by  a  garden.  You 
enter  under  a  lofty  gateway,  and  before  you  is  an  avenue 
of  cypresses,  a  third  of  a  mile  long,  whose  dark  foliage  is 
a  setting  for  a  form  of  dazzling  whiteness  at  the  end. 
That  is  the  Taj.  It  stands,  not  on  the  level  of  your  eye, 
but  on  a  double  terrace ;  the  first,  of  red  sandstone,  20 
feet  high  and  i  ,000  feet  broad,  at  the  extremities  of  which 
stand  two  mosques,  of  the  same  dark  stone,  facing  each 
other.  Midway  between  rises  the  second  terrace,  of 
marble,  1 5  feet  high  and  300  feet  square,  on  the  corners 
of  which  stand  four  marble  minarets.  In  the  centre  of 
all,  thus  "reared  in  air,"  stands  the  Taj.  It  is  built  of 
marble — no  other  material  than  this,  of  pure  and  stain- 
less white,  was  fit  for  a  purpose  so  sacred.  It  Is  150  feet 
square  (or  rather,  it  is  eight-sided,  since  the  corners  are 


I 


;i.: .  :c«  Dot 


{vao.  Vou 


T.t  I-"' 


762 


EHHOH'S   CHAINS. 


all  that  loveliness  is  enshrined.  Another  sarcophagus 
contains  the  body  of  her  husband.  Their  tombs  were 
covered  with  fresh  flowers,  a  perpetual  tribute  to  that  love 
which  was  so  strong  even  on  the  throne,  to  those  who 
were  thus  united  in  life,  and  in  death  are  not  divided. 


INTERIOR  OF  THE  TAJ,  THE  TOMB  OF  MAHAL. 

Here  sentiment  comes  in  to  affect  our  sense  ol  the 
beauty  of  the  place.  If  it  were  not  for  the  touching  his- 
tory connected  with  it,  I  could  not  agree  with  those  who 
pronounce  the  Taj  the  most  beautiful  building  in  the 
world.  Merely  as  a  building,  it  does  not  "overcome" 
me  so  much  as  another  marble  structure — the  Cathedral 


MOHAMMEDAN  MOSQUES  AND   WORSHIP.  yg^ 

of  Milan.  I  could  not  say  with  Bishop  Heber  that  the 
mosques  of  Islam  are  more  beautiful,  or  more  in  har- 
mony with  the  spirit  of  devotion,  than  Christian  churches 
or  cathedrals.  But  the  Taj  is  not  a  mosque,  it  is  a  tomb 
— a  monument  to  the  dead.  And  that  gives  it  a  tender 
interest,  which  spiritualizes  the  cold  marble,  and  makes 
it  more  than  a  building — a  poem  and  a  dream. 

As  we  came  out  the  moon  was  riding  high  overhead, 
flooding  the  marble  pile  with  beauty.  Round  and 
round  we  walked,  looking  up  at  arch  and  dome  and 
minaret.  At  such  an  hour  the  Taj  was  so  pale  and  ghost- 
like, that  it  did  not  seem  like  a  building  reared  by  human 
hands,  but  to  have  grown  where  it  stood — like  a  night- 
blooming  Cereus,  rising  slowly  in  the  moonlight — lifting  its 
domes  and  pinnacles  (like  branches  growing  heaven- 
ward) toward  that  world  which  is  the  home  of  the  love 
which  it  was  to  preserve  in  perpetual  memory. 

With  such  thoughts  we  kept  our  eyes  fixed  on  that 
glittering  vision,  as  if  we  feared  that  even  as  we  gazed 
it  might  vanish  out  of  our  sight.  Below  us  the  Jumna, 
flowing  silently,  seemed  like  an  image  of  human  life  as  it 
glided  by.  And  so  at  last  we  turned  to  depart,  and  bade 
farewell  to  the  Taj,  feeling  that  we  should  never  look  at 
it  again;  but  hoping  that  it  might  stand  for  ages  to  tell 
its  history  of  faithful  love  to  future  generations.  Flow 
on,  sweet  Jumna,  by  the  marble  walls,  reflecting  the 
moonbeams  on  thy  placid  breast ;  and  in  thy  gentle  mur- 
murs whispering  evermore  of  Love  and  Death,  and  Love 
that  cannot  die ! 

pilgrimages  and  festivals. 

Mecca,  the  birthplace  of  Mohammed,  is  the  holy  place 
of  the  Moslems.  The  Kaaba,  Mohammed's  homestead, 
is  the  holy  place  of  Mecca.     From  all  over  Moslemdom 


764 


ERUOR'S   CHAINS. 


once  In  every  year  great  caravans  go  to  visit  the  birth- 
place of  the  prophet.     This  is  the  event  in  the  lives  of  the 


MOHAMMEDAN  MOSQUES  AND  WORSHIP.  y^c 

faithful.  The  long  processions,  mounted  on  camels, 
gorgeously  caparisoned,  file  out  from  the  cities,  and  across 
hill,  and  plain,  and  over  the  desert  to  Mecca.  Mohamme- 
danism is  probably  the  most  active  of  the  non-Christian 
religions.  The  pilgrimages,  the  numbers  of  missionaries 
and  the  seeming  devotion  of  the  people,  as  manifested  In 
their  attendance  at  the  mosques,  and  on  the  occasions  of 
festivals  indicate  this.  One  of  their  festivals,  celebrated  in 
India,  arouses  their  religious  zeal,  and  carries  it  to  the 
highest  pitch  of  fanaticism.  This  Is  the  feast  of  Mohur- 
rim,  the  Moslem  "Feast  of  Martyrs,"  commemorating 
the  bloody  death  of  Mohammed's  grandsons.  "The 
martyrdom  of  these  Moslem  saints  is  commemorated  by 
little  shrines  in  their  houses,  made  of  paper  and  tinsel, 
and  on  the  great  day  of  the  feast  they  go  in  procession 
out  of  the  city  (of  Delhi)  to  a  cemetery  five  miles  distant 
where  they  bury  them  in  newly-opened  graves.  Men, 
women  and  children  by  tens  of  thousands  on  foot,  and 
others  in  bullock-carts  or  mounted  on  horses,  camels  and 
elephants.  Immense  crowds  gather  by  the  road-side, 
mounting  the  steps  of  old  palaces  or  climbing  to  the 
tops  of  houses,  to  see  this  mighty  procession  pass,  as  It 
goes  rolling  forward  in  a  wild  frenzy  to  the  cemetery. 
There  they  lay  down  these  images  of  their  saints  as  they 
would  bury  their  dead." 

CONCLUSION. 

The  Mohammedan  religion  was  established  by  the 
sword,  it  has  constantly  suffered  by  the  sword,  it  seems 
destined  to  perish  by  the  sword.  Its  history  is  tracked 
with  blood.  It  has  kept  back  the  nations  that  have  ac- 
cepted It,  retarding  their  progress.  It  has  degraded 
woman.  It  has  no  teachings  of  sin  or  a  Sacrifice  or  a 
Saviour.     God  is  the  "All  merciful,"  but  His  mercy  is, 


^66 


ERROR'S   CHAINS. 


according  to  Moslem  teachings,  with  utter  disregard  of 
justice.  To  be  a  Moslem  is  all  that  is  necessary  to  ob- 
tain mercy,  to  refuse  to  yield  to  the  faith  of  Mohammed 
is  all  that  is  needed  to  deprive  one  of  God's  mercy.  The 
idea  of  God  is  cold  and  cruel,  with  no  idea  of  the  Father. 
But  Mohammedanism  has  rendered  this  service  to  the 
world,  it  has  greatly  lessened  idolatry.  The  most  stub- 
born opposition  to  Christian  missionary  work  comes  from 
the  Mohammedans.  But  the  whole  building  of  Moham- 
medanism, especially  in  its  political  relations,  seems  to  be 
tottering  and  crumbling,  and  threatens  soon  to  fall  in 
ruins. 

May  the  Cross  soon  gain  a  peaceful,  bloodless  triumph 
over  the  Crescent ! 


THE   WORLD'S  RETURN  TO  ITS  FIRST  WORSHIP. 


767 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

WINNING    THE    WORLD    TO    THE    WORSHIP   OF     THE    ONE    GOD. 

There  is  a  cry  in  Burmah,  and  a  rush 

Of  thousand  footsteps  from  the  distant  bound 

Of  watery  Siara  and  the  rich  Cathay. 

Not  for  food 
Or  raiment  ask  they.     Simply  girding  on 
The  scanty  garment  o'er  the  weary  limb, 
They  pass  unmarked  the  lofty  domes  of  wealth 
Inquiring  for  a  stranger.     There  he  stands; 
The  mark  of  foreign  climes  is  on  his  brow  ; 
He  hath  no  power,  no  costly  gifts  to  deal 
Among  the  people,  and  his  lore  perchance 
The  earth-bowed  worldling,  with  his  scales  of  gold, 
Accounteth  folly.     Yet  to  him  is  raised 
Each  straining  eyeball,  "Tell  us  of  the  Christ  !" 
And  like  the  far-off  murmur  of  the  sea 
Lashed  by  the  tempest,  swelled  their  blended  tone, 
"  Sir,  we  would  hear  of  Christ.     Give  us  a  scroll 
Bearing  His  name." 

Mrs.  L.  H.  Sigourney. 

BEFORE  concluding-  the  pleasant  task  upon  which 
he  has  been  engaged  so  long,  the  author  feels  that 
it  will  be  necessary  to  meet  the  expectation  that 
he  should  say  something  about  the  work  of  bringing  the 
world  back  to  its  first  worship.  At  first,  we  have  seen, 
the  world  worshiped  one  God ;  then  many  gods  and  idols 
were  introduced.  Repeated  efforts  to  restore  the  pure 
worship  of  primitive  times  ended  in  failure.  Zoroaster 
tried  and  failed;  Buddha  tried,  and  he  failed;  Moham- 


768 


EJiROR'S   CHAINS, 


med  tried,  and  he  failed ;  Jesus  the  Christ  tried,  and  He 
did  not  fail. 


WHY    GIVE    THE    GOSPEL   TO    THE    WORLD  T 

The  ground  of  the  success  of  Christianity  lies  In  its 


superior  character.  Its  revelations  are  clearer  and  fuller, 
its  motives  are  purer,  and  its  hopes  are  higher  than  those 
of  any  heathen  system.     One   may  glean  the  choicest 


THE  WORLD'S  RETURN  TO  ITS  FIRST  WORSHIP 


769 


sayings  of  the  masters  of  religious  teachings,  and  in  com- 
parison with  those  of  Jesus  the  Christ,  their  Hght  is  as 
that  of  a  candle  compared  with  the  light  of  the  sun. 
Undoubtedly  this  conviction  has  forced  itself  upon  the 
mind  of  the  reader  as  he  has  considered  the  various  sys- 
tems of  reliofion ;  that  there  is  not  one  amonof  them  all 
that  can  do  for  the  world  that  which  Christianity  can  ac- 
complish. Compare  the  founders  of  religions  with  the 
Founder  of  Christianity,  in  their  lives,  characters  and 
teachings.  Compare  together  the  sacred  books ;  the 
Vedas,  the  laws  of  Manu,  the  Zend-Avesta,  the  Tripi- 
takas  and  the  Koran,  with  the  Bible.  Compare  the  ef- 
fects of  these  religions  upon  the  political,  social,  civil  and 
domestic  life  of  the  people  with  the  effects  of  Christian- 
ity; compare  Christian  and  heathen  lands,  Christian  and 
heathen  homes.  Christian  and  heathen  governments. 
Compare  the  best  parts  of  the  best  of  heathen  religions 
with  any  part  of  Christianity.  One  cannot  but  see  the 
marked  contrasts,  and  the  infinite  superiority  of  Chris- 
tianity. This  being  so,  then  does  it  not  follow  that  they 
who  are  seeking  to  give  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  the  Christ 
to  the  world  are  rendering  a  service  to  the  cause  of  hu- 
manity? And  they  are  but  obeying  the  command  of 
Jesus  Christ  to  "  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature." 
A  young  curate,  who  had  fed  on  Sydney  Smith's  diet  of 
sarcastic  witticisms,  once  approached  the  Duke  of  Wel- 
lington with  the  question,  "  Do  you  not  think  that  the 
work  of  converting  the  Hindus  is  all  a  fanatical  farce?" 
"Look  to  your  marching  orders,  sir!"  the  stern  old  Iron 
Duke  replied.  Common  gratitude  moves  us  to  desire 
that  the  world  shall  be  made  to  know  of  Jesus  Christ 
When  we  read  of  the  worship  of  our  heathen  ancestors, 
and  remember  that  we  should  have  been  doing  to-day  as 
they  did,  had  it  not  been  for  the  Christian  men  who  took 


770 


i:y^'A'OA''S    CHAINS, 


the  Gospel  to  England,  we  feel  new  obligations  resting 
upon  us.  Further,  all  things  are  working  to  this  end. 
Inventions,  explorations,  the  discoveries  of  science,  pro- 
gress in  government,  everything  waits  upon  this  work. 

THE    STORY    OF    THE    WORK. 

It  began  1,850  years  ago.  A  Christian  man  named 
Paul  went  among:  the  heathen  of  Asia  Minor  and  South- 
eastern  Europe — among  the  worshipers  of  the  gods  of 
Greece  and  Rome — to  tell  them  of  Christ.  He  was  ac- 
companied by  other  Christians.  They  met  with  con- 
siderable success,  though  they  were  made  to  suffer  for  it. 

In  later  years,  from  Rome,  that  had  then  become 
the  centre  of  Christianity,  other  Christians  went  to 
Western  Europe.  From  Greenland,  of  the  Arctic  Zone, 
to  the  West  Indies,  of  the  Tropics,  Christianity  was  ex- 
tended. Nation  after  nation  gave  up  its  idols,  cruel 
customs  were  abolished,  and  a  purer  life  and  worship 
was  begun.  But  it  was  left  for  the  last  hundred  years  to 
witness  the  development  of  this  work  to  its  greatest 
extent. 

THE    PRESENT    POSITION    OF   THE    CHRISTIAN    ARMY. 

The  Christian  camp-fires  are  lighted  and  the  tents  of 
the  Christian  army  have  been  erected  in  almost  every 
land  of  the  globe.  The  conquering  army  pursues  only 
peaceful  methods;  it  does  not  seek  to  drive  but  to  win; 
not  to  harm  but  to  help.  In  gaining  its  present  position 
many  lives  have  been  lost,  many  sacrifices  have  been 
made.  It  has  had  to  contend  for  the  ground  it  occupies, 
inch  by  inch ;  the  forces  of  idolatry  have  been  mustered 
against  its  advance.  The  giant  Goliath,  Heathenism,  has 
counted  on  a  speedy  destruction  of  the  stripling  David, 
Christianity.     One  country  after  another  has  opened  its 


THE  WORLD'S  RETURN  TO  ITS  FIRST  WORSHIP.        77  j 

doors  to  the  coming  of  Christianity.  India,  in  the  year 
1 705,  opened  her  doors  only  to  close  them  again  after  a 
little  ;  since  1830,  however,  the  work  has  been  prosecuted 
vigorously.  China,  in  1807,  and  Japan,  in  1859,  wel- 
comed the  first  Protestant  Christian  missionaries.  Thus, 
too,  other  countries  of  Asia,  Africa  and  the  Islands  of  the 
Pacific  have  received  the  Christian  heralds,  within  the 
last  hundred  years.  Now  behold  them  marshaled  for 
the  fight.  Let  us  hastily  glance  at  the  various  fields  in 
succession. 

A    FLIGHT   OVER   THE    FIELDS. 

Let  us  rub  our  Aladdin's  lamps,  and  summon  the 
genii  to  bear  us  away  over  the  world.  Let  us  on  imagi- 
nation's swift  wings  fly  over  the  battle-fields.''' 

In  Japan  we  see  Buddhism  being  galvanized  into  a 
new  life  for  the  moment,  and  Shintoism  cast  off  by  the  gov- 
ernment and  in  great  part  by  the  people.  We  see  a  few 
new  temples  being  erected,  but  many  old  ones  falling  into 
ruins.  Western  ideas  have  been  introduced,  and  western 
civilization  is  making  rapid  progress  in  this  most  eastern 
land.  One  hundred  and  twenty-three  Christian  mission- 
aries have  won  3,000  Japanese  to  join  their  churches. 
The  Japanese  have  the  New  Testament  in  their  own 
language.  Corea  has  just  been  reached  by  missionaries, 
and  the  New  Testament  is  being  published  in  the  Corean 
language. 

Old  China  is  being  brought  to  the  childhood  of  con- 
version to  Christ;  her  conservatism  is  passing  away;  her 
exclusive  policy  is  being  yielded  up ;  her  hatred  of  the 

*  The  facts  and  figures  that  follow  are  gathered  from  the  latest  reports  of  over 
seventy  missionary  societies  of  Germany,  France,  Great  Britain  and  America.  These 
are  in  the  writer's  possession,  and  from  them  he  presents  the  latest  ascertainable  re- 
turns to  March  20th,  1881. 


772 


ERUOJi'S   CHAINS. 


foreigners  (the  "foreign  devils"  and  "barbarians")  is 
being  overcome  and  replaced  by  respect  and  in  some 
cases  by  love.  To-day  a  man  behaving  himself  properly 
and  not  bearing  himself  insolently,  can  travel  unmolested 
in  any  part  of  China,  even  where  foreigners  once  were 
murdered.  Every  one  of  its  provinces  has  been  visited 
by  Christian  missionaries ;  in  almost  all  they  reside.  The 
language  (said  to  have  been  invented  by  the  devil  to 
perplex  missionaries)  is  very  thoroughly  understood  and 
used.  Their  false  science  and  law  is  being  replaced  by 
true  instruction.  Christ  is  taking  Confucius's  place,  as  it 
is  seen  that  his  teaching  can  never  regenerate  China. 
Buddha's  dreary  faith  of  annihilation,  and  Lao-tze's  super- 
stitious materialism  are  being  slowly  yielded  up  by  the 
people.  The  taking  of  this  Gibraltar  of  heathenism  is 
by  no  means  accomplished ;  yet  her  walls  are  being 
scaled,  and  a  foothold  on  their  summit  gained.  They  that 
have  turned  the  world  upside  down  have  gone  thither 
also.  By  unique  and  unexpected  providence,  God  is 
aidinof  His  workers.  The  recent  terrible  famine  was  such 
a  providence.  Yet  while  the  number  of  converts  is  not 
great,  a  very  great  deal  of  unseen  work  has  been  ac- 
complished. It  seems  as  though  a  whole  legion  of  devils 
catch  up  the  seed  of  the  Gospel  sown  in  China,  almost 
as  quickly  as  it  touches  the  ground  ;  still  some,  and  much, 
brings  forth  good  fruit.  Considering  the  powerful  oppo- 
sition, the  gigantic  obstacle:^,  the  almost  insurmountable 
difficulties,  that  there  should  be  19,000  living  Chinese 
Christians  to-day,  and  probably  85.000  nominal  Chris- 
tians, is  surprising.  To-day  496  missionaries  are  at  work 
in  China,  seeking  to  convert  its  400,000,000  people. 

Moravian  missionaries  are  preaching  the  Gospel  of 
Christ  on  the  borders  of  Thibet,  the  stronghold  of  Bud- 
dhism.   It  is  here  that  the  Buddhist  Lama  or  Pope  resides. 


THE   WORLD'S  RETURN  TO  ITS  FIRST  WORSHIP. 


Ill 


In  Siam  great  changes  have  recently  occurred.  The 
country  is  now  open  to  foreigners ;  a  missionary  is  in 
charge  of  the  government  school  and  this  nation,  like 
Japan,  seems  to  be  progressing  toward  the  light.  Twenty- 
four  missionaries  (one  among  Chinese  colonists),  with  631 
converts  represent  the  strength  of  the  church  there. 

In  Assam  "the  light  of  a  brighter  day  gilds  the  hill- 
tops and  spreads  along  the  valleys,  ripening  the  long 
corn-fields  for  the  reaper's  sickle."  Long  and  patient 
toil  has  not  as  yet  been  rewarded  with  great  harvest 
gatherings,  but  the  missionaries  look  forward  in  patient 
waiting  for  a  better  day.  There  are  13  churches,  with 
1,800 members;  26  missionaries, and  75  native  preachers. 

There  are  European  missionaries  in  Borneo,  Celebes, 
and  the  Moluccas ;  among  the  aborigines  of  Australia, 
and  in  the  Island  of  Mauritius. 

""Vhat  a  grand  work  has  been  done  in  Burmah,  where 
missionary  labor  has  been  so  emphatically  blessed ;  among 
Burmese,  Karens,  Shans  and  Kakyens.  The  young  mis- 
sion at  Bhamo  is  in  a  precarious  condition  at  present, 
owing  to  the  relations  of  King  Thee-bau  to  England  ;  yet 
the  missionaries  there  stand  by  their  posts.  The  Bud- 
dhism of  Burmah  seems  as  yet  but  little  affected  by  the 
presence  of  Christianity ;  the  work  among  the  Karens 
has  made  more  rapid  progress  than  among  the  Burmese, 
because  of  the  preparation  for  the  Gospel  by  their  singu- 
lar traditions  and  prophecies.  There  are '23,000  Chris- 
tians, the  nucleus  of  a  Christian  community  of  about 
75,000.     There  are  103  missionaries  in  Burmah. 

India  has  been  very  thoroughly  evangelized.  The 
opposition  of  the  representatives  of  so-called  Christian 
nations,  the  strength  of  caste,  and  the  attachment  to  the 
elaborate  system  of  Hinduism  were  the  principal  obsta- 
cles to  the  progress  of  Christianity.     Five-sixths  of  all 


774 


E JUROR'S   CHAINS, 


the  converts  are  from  the  lower  castes  or  ranks  of  the 
people.  By  education  in  mission-schools,  but  mainly  by 
direct  preaching,  about  1 1 5,000  converts  have  been  made. 
There  is  a  native  Christian  community  (M.  A.  Sherring 
says)  of  a  half  a  million.    Six  hundred  and  seven  missiona- 


^ 


A  MISSIONARY  HOME  IN  BURMAH. 


ries  were  at  work  in  1875.  One  of  the  most  extraordinary 
events  of  all  modern  missionary  history  was  the  sudden 
turning  of  the  thousands  of  Teloogoos  to  Christ.  The 
people  of  India  have  been  greatly  enlightened,  thought 
awakened,  and  a  wonderful  transformation  is  occurring. 
The  sacrifice  of  infants,  the  horrible  practice  of  suttee,  the 
Juggernaut  festivals,  are  no  more  tolerated.  English  and 
American  ladies  have  gained  an  entrance  into  the  zena- 


THE   WORLD'S  RETURN  TO  ITS  FIRST  IVORSHIP.        -.7- 

nas,  and  the  women  of  India  are  becoming  aware  of  a 
new  life  of  which  diey  never  dreamed.  All  over  India, 
Christian  villages  and  churches  dot  the  land ;  and  before 
another  generation  has  passed  away,  if  the  increase  shall 
be  proportionate  to  the  recent  past,  India  will  be  a  Chris- 
tian country.  The  Brahmo-Somaj,  a  sort  of  reform  on 
Brahminism,  has  recently  drawn  very  near  to  Christianity, 
and  as  illustrated  by  Keshub  Chunder  Sen's  recent  re- 
markable address  may  soon  become  a  Christian  body. 

Little  has  been  undertaken  in  Afo^hanistan,  Beloochistan 
or  Arabia,  as  yet.  There  are  29  missionories  and  1,376 
converts  in  Persia.  The  converts  are  principally  from 
the  Nestorians,  who  have  long  been  nominally  Christians. 
Access  to  the  Mohammedans  is  becoming  easier. 

In  Turkey,  momentous  changes  are  occurring.  The 
despicable,  despotic  government  is  losing  its  power. 
Here  the  first  triumphs  of  the  first  missionaries  were 
won.  The  old  Armenian  race,  the  Anglo-Saxons  of  the 
East,  who  received  Christianity  in  the  fourth  century, 
have  in  later  years  shown  a  remarkable  readiness  to  re- 
ceive Protestant  preaching.  The  Mohammedans,  here 
as  elsewhere,  are  almost  inaccessible.  In  Constantinople 
alone,  a  city  of  the  size  of  Philadelphia,  they  have  300 
mosques.  There  are  158  missionaries  in  Turkey,  and 
7,200  converts,  and  14,000  children  In  their  schools.  In 
Syria  there  is  a  strong  'missionary  body.  It  is  difficult 
to  reach  the  Jews,  Mussulmans  and  Christians  (Greek 
and  Roman  Catholic  churches),  because  of  their  exceed- 
ing religiosity.  The  American  Congregadonalists  and 
Presbyterians,  and  also  the  Church  of  England,  have 
missionaries  here.  There  are  1,317  Protestant  Chris- 
tians, no  missionaries,  and  12,057  scholars  in  Syria. 

Central  Asia  is  almost  the  only  part  of  the  world  yet 
closed  against  the  Gospel,  though  even  here  a  little  has 
47 


776 


jE/ca'OA's  chains. 


been  done  by  the  brave  old  Joseph  Wolff  and  English 
officers. 

Africa,  the  dark  continent,  has  a  population  of  about 
200,000,000.  Mohammedanism  has  thoroughly  overrun 
Africa,  especially  the  nordiern  portions.  Fetichism,  the 
lowest  form  of  idolatry,  holds  the  great  mass  of  the  Af- 
rican peoples.  There  are  two  missions  in  Egypt ;  the 
British,  with  one  missionary  and  two  stations,  and  the 
American,  with  twenty-two  missionaries,  thirty-four  sta- 
tions and  1,000  members,  mainly  from  the  Copts,  an  old 
Christian  sect.  The  children  in  the  mission-schools  are 
mostly  Mohammedan.  In  South  Africa  twelve  or  fifteen 
societies  have  not  less  than  40,000  converts.  The  west- 
ern coast,  from  Sierra  Leone  to  the  Gulf  of  Guinea,  is 
frinofed  with  Christian  missions.  At  the  mouth  of  the 
Coneo,  on  the  west,  and  on  the  Nio-er  and  Zanzibar 
coast,  on  the  east,  the  missions  are  flourishing.  The 
greatest  interest  attaches  to  the  very  recent  occupancy 
of  Central  Africa.  On  November  15th,  1876,  Stanley's 
famous  letter,  mentioning  King  Mtesa's  request  for 
Christian  teachers,  was  received.  A  few  days  after, 
^20,000  were  offered  to  found  a  mission  at  Victoria  Ny- 
anza.  Within  seven  months  a  picked  party  of  seven 
missionaries  stood  on  the  eastern  shore  of  Africa.  They 
have  experienced  great  difficulties  and  met  with  slight 
success. 

Madagascar  may  be  called  a  Christian  country  now, 
as  may  also  the  Sandwich  Islands,  the  British  West  In- 
dies, and,  perhaps,  the  greater  part  of  the  islands  of  Poly- 
nesia. In  Mexico,  and  in  South  America,  as  in  the  Papal 
lands  of  Europe,  Protestant  missionaries  are  laboring. 

"  The  field  is  the  world  ;"  the  motto  is — the  world  for 
Christ  and  Christ  for  the  world.  The  great  triumphs  of 
the  past  are  being  eclipsed  by  the  greater  ones  of  the 


THE   WORLD'S  RETURN  TO  ITS  FIRST  WORSHIP. 


777 


present.  The  old  decrepit  and  deformed  sects  of  Chris- 
tianity, long  sleeping  if  not  long  dead,  are  taking  on  a 
new  life.  The  Pagan  religions  are  attempting  the  im- 
possible task  of  preventing  the  incoming  of  Christianity; 
but  their  thraldom  is  broken,  and  everywhere  the  dropping 
of  the  broken  fetters  is  heard.  Mohammedanism  alone 
is  gathering  itself  with  vigor  to  resist  and  repel  and 
overcome  Christianity,  but  its  sword  has  been  wrested 
from  its  grasp.  The  conquests  of  Christianity  have  not 
been  won  by  might  of  sword ;  her  victories  over  old 
faiths  have  not  been  gained  by  worldly  wisdom.  By 
love,  by  persuasion,  by  patient  toil  and  suffering,  the  self- 
offered  but  God-called  missionaries  have  done  this  work. 
God  be  praised  for  their  lives,  their  works  and  their  suc- 
cesses. May  the  day  soon  come  when,  his  "  Gospel  hav- 
ing been  published  throughout  the  whole  world  for  a 
testimony  to  all  the  nations,"  Christ,  by  whose  command 
they  went  forth,  shall  come  and  gather  out  of  all  nations 
His  own! 


INDEX. 


Page 

Abhidharma 514 

Abu  BeliT 728 

Abyssinia 7^4 

Adar 130 

Aditi 216 

Africa 341 

African  Religion,  89, 341;  Missions,  776 

African  Travelers 341 

Agni 216 

Agra 760 

Agricola 195 

Agriculture,  Temple  of,  at  Peking  .    467 

Ahriman 410 

Ainos 716 

Akamatz 669,  673 

Alaskans 362,  371 

Alexander 412 

Alger,  W.  R 741 

Allegory  of  Winter  and  Spring  .    .    369 

Altars 60 

Amaterasu 311 

Amazon  sun-worship 377 

American  Indians,  361;    Traditions 

of  Deluge 72 

Amon 104 

Ancestors,  Worship  of  .    .  364,  481,  486 

Angkor 592 

Anubis 104 

Apis 106 

Apollo  and  Hermes 159 

Arabian  Night's  Entertainment  .    .    567 

Arab  slave-dealers 34 1 

Araucanians 378 

Arhans 626,  687 

Arnold,  Edwin.    .    .   500,507,522,598 

Arnold,  Matthew 184 

Asakusa 673 

Ashtoreth 141 

Asoka 513.527.532,540 

Assamese  Missions 773 

Asshur 127 

Assyrian  Triad,  128;    Bull.    ...     135 

Atagosa-Yama 686 

Athens 167 

Augustine 209 

Avesta 411 

Aztecs 53.  379 


Baal 142,  '94 

Baalbec,  Temple  of  Sun  at  ...    .  583 

Baal-Peor 14I 

Babel,  Chaldean  story  of 74 

Babylon I35 

Bangkok,   Pagoda  of 576 

Baruch 138 

Basutos 347 

Bear  Worship        7*7 

Beatitudes  of  Buddha 520 

Beggars,  Buddhist 523 

Begging-bowl 525 

Bel 128 

Bell  of  Osaka 691 

Bells,  The 578 

Benares 255,  502,  508 

Benten    . ' 328, 678 

Benzura 680 

Berosus 63,74,  121,  I28 

Bible  and  Idolatry 74 

Bible  of  Thibet 609 

Bible  testimony  to  first  worship  .    .  34 

Bidasu 657 

Binzum 680 

Bishamon 328 

Black  Stone 721 

Bodhidharma 615,657 

Bombay 5^^ 

Bonny 355 

Bon  Religion 598 

Bonzes,  Chinese .651 

Book  of  the  Dead,  Egyptian  ...  108 

Books  of  Brick 123 

Booldo 654 

Borsippa 13^ 

Bo-tree,  507,  539,  550;    of  Ceylon,  546 

Bowring,   Sir  John 588 

Boyesen 200 

Boy,  Moslem 752 

Boy,  The  Old 424 

Brahma 216 

Brahmanas 217 

Brahminism 92,  502 

Brahmins  and  Gautama 5^7 

Brick  Books 123 

Bricks  of  Chaldea 122 

Bridge-ladder,  Turning  the  ....  483 

779 


78o 


INDEX. 


Page 

Britain  in  ancient  times i86 

Brittan,  Miss  H.  G 295 

Browning,  Mrs.  E 84 

Buddha,   500;     Gautama  becomes, 

508,  and  Christ 509-512 

Buddhagliosha,  514,528,  550;  Para- 
bles of    528 

Buddhas,  The  Three  Precious  .    .    625 

Buddha's  Tooth,  Worship  of  .    .    .     553 

Buddhism,87,93,50o;  in  China, 420, 

61 1 ;  in  India  and  Ceylon,  532  ;  in 

Burmah,  555;    m  Siam,  5.75;    in 

Thibet,    598;   in    Corea,    654;  in 

Japan 656 

Buddhist  Councils 527 

Buddhist  Saint's  Tomb 590 

Bull,  Assyrian 135 

Burmese  Buddhism,  555;   Missions,  773 

Burmese  Superstitions 570 

Bushmen 346 

Byron 536 

C^SAR 192,    527 

Cairo  University 720 

Calf,  Golden 140 

Caliphs 728 

Cambjses 106 

Camel  Driver '   .    .  721 

Canton 615,  626,  637 

Canton,  Examination  Hall  in  .    .    .  473 

Caste 222 

Cathay 699 

Causes  of  decay  in  religion  ....  84 

Cave  of  Idols 596 

Cazembe  Fetich-man 351 

Cemetery  at  Mecca 727 

Centaurs 1 63 

Ceremony  of  Water-lamps  ....  653 

Ceres  and  Liber 179 

Ceyloncse  Buddhism,  540;    Bible.  554 

Chair  of  Nails 652 

Chaldean  story  of  Deluge,   64;    of 

Babel,  74;   Tablets II9 

Champollion lOO 

Channa  . 5°7 

Chaos 154 

Charlemagne 527 

Charms,  Chinese 439 

Childe  Harold 536 

Children  taught  to  worship  idols  230,  490 
China,  41 6;  religions  of,  94, 41 6, 41 9; 

Missions  in 77^ 

Chinese    Deities,    56;     Languages, 

418;  Home  Life,  478;  Jjuddhism, 

611;  Idols,  641 ;  Devotees  .    .    .  652 

Chinese  in  Siam 596 

Chinese  tradition  of  early  ages,  44; 

of  Deluge 69 


Page 
Christ  and  Buddha,  509-J12;    and 

other  Masters 767 

Christian  and  Buddhist  ideas  .  .  .  515 
Christianity's  Conquest,  95,  767;  in 

Great  Britain 195 

Clement  of    Alexandria 104 

Coffee,  King 346 

Coleridge,  S.  T 47 

Colossal  Buddha 632,  693 

Comparative    religion 35 

Confucianism 94,  419 

Confucian  Temples 4^i,  471 

Confucius,  445,  710;  and  Lao-Tsze,  425 
Constantine  the  Great  .    .    513,  527  754 

Corea 654,  699 

Corean  Priest,  657;  Buddhism    .    .     687 

Corinth 168 

Costumes  of  Chaldea 125 

Councils  of  the  Buddhists  ....  527 
Creation,  Traditions  of  .    .    .    .      62,  307 

Cross  and  Crescent 766 

Crusades 733 

Cuneiform    Letters 124 

Cunningham,  A 540 

Cyclops 154 

Cypress-tree  of  Ceylon    .    .    .    532,  546 

Dagabas 548,  620 

Dagon 58 

Dai    Butsu    of   Kamakura,  693 ;    of 

Nara 699 

Daikoku 323,678 

Dalai  Lama 600 

Dante .    527 

Dead  and  living  Religions  ....  82 
Dead,  Eg}'ptian  Book  of  the  ...     1 08 

Dead  Pan 85 

Dead  Religions 84 

Delhi.    .    . 754 

Deluge,  Traditions  of 66 

Dervishes 748 

Devil  Mask 549 

Devils,  Driving  out 705 

Devotees,  281 ;  of  China 652 

Dhanna 514 

Diana   of   Ephesus 1 71,  583 

Dining-room  of  a  Buddhist  Temple,  670 
Dispersion  of  the  Nations  ....       45 

Do-nothing  Sect 654 

Doolittle,  j 653 

Douglass,  R.  K 446 

Dragon  Boat-race 436 

Drufds 18S 

Du  Chaillu,  P 358 

Dyaus 214 

Ebisu.   .    ; 326 

Ebn-el  Farid 77 


INDEX, 


781 


Page 

Edda 199 

Edkins,  J 419 

Egyptian  Architect 38 

Egyptian  Book  of  the  Dead  ...  108 

Elephanta,  Cave  of 256 

Elephant,  Palace  of 579 

Elephant,  White 588 

Elfin  story 205 

Elijah 144,621 

Elysian  Fields 518 

Emerald  Idol 579 

English   Heathenism 185 

Ephesian  Diana 17 1 

Erebus 154 

Etruscan  Religion 174 

Europe 92 

Examinations  in  China 473 

Exodus  of  Nations 45 

Fa  Hian 599,  612 

Fakirs 279 

Farrar,  F.  W 290 

Fetich 350 

Field,  H.  M 97,  473,  758 

Fielde,  A.  M 498 

Fijian  Temple 391 

Fiji  Islanders'  Tradition  of  the  Del- 

.uge 71 

Fire  Crackers 499 

Fire-god's  Secret 393 

Fire-worshipers 407 

First  Hymns 53 

First  Worship 2>2> 

Five    Hundred    Gods   Temple,    in 

China,  626;  in  Japan 687 

Flight  of  Mohammed  .    .    .    .719,  725 

Flowing  Invocation 715 

Foism 611 

"Footsteps  of   the  Law"  ....  518 

Fox-worship 703 

Freiligrath,  1" 341 

Fuji-yama 329,  70S 

Fukuroku  Jin 322 

Funeral  in  Japan 7 1 1 

Funeral  of  Burmese  Monk  .    .    .    .  571 

Funeral  of  Siamese  King    ....  596 

I'uneral  Ritual  of    Egypt   ....  104 

Funeral   Temple  of  Siam  .    .    .    .  578 

Gabriel's  Message 724 

Gambler's  God 498 

Ganesha 265 

Ganges 255,  272 

Garden,  Buddhist 562 

Gata   and   Karpara 40 

Gate-ways  of  Shinto  Temples  .    .    .  332 

Gathas •    .    .    .  409 

Gautama 502 


Page 

Gedeen-tubpa 600 

Genii  of  Assyria 132 

Goddess  of  Mercy,  632;  of  women  .  637 
God  of  Letters,  438 ;  of  War,  439 ; 

of  Riches,  440;    of  Kitchen  .  *.  493 

Gods,  African,  343 ;  Japanese  .    .    .  703 

Gods  of  Taoism 434 

Gounja-Gounja 345 

Grand  Lama 607 

Graves,  Worship  at 631 

Gray,  J.  H. 443 

Great   Spirit 364 

Greek  Tradition  of  Deluge  ....  72 

Greek  Tradition  of  Early  Ages  .    .  44 

Gregory  the  Great 208 

Griffis,  W.  E 658,  667 

Grouping  Religions 77 

Guards  of  Temple 677 

Gutzlaff,  C 69 

Gwalior,  Cave  of 257 

Hachiman 678 

Hairs  of  White  Elephant 587 

Hamonim 654 

Ilardwick,  C 61,  428 

Hardy,  Spence 502,  514 

Haroun-al-Raschid 732 

Heine,   H 575 

Hejira 725 

Hell,    Chinese   idea  of,    642 ;    Jap- 
anese idea  of 688,  700 

Hemis,  Monastery  of 600 

Herculaneum 183 

Hercules 163 

Hermes  and  Apollo  .    .* 159 

Herodotus 97 

Hesiod 151 

Hiawatha 368 

Hieroglyphics 50,   100 

Hilaire,  B.  St 500,  510 

Hindu  Tradition  of  Early  Ages  .    .       44 
Hindu    Tradition  of  Deluge  ...       68 

Hiogo  Buddha 666 

H'lassa,  599;  Cathedral 603 

Holy  men  of  Hindus 279 

Holy  .Scriptures 518 

Homer 151 

Homes,  Chinese 47S 

Hooghly  River  Mos.un 742 

Horrors,  Temple  of 642 

Hotel 3::7,  703 

Hottentots 345,  349 

Household  gods  of  Japan  ....     321 

Howqua 478 

Human   Sacrifices   in    Britain,    192; 

among  Hindus 225 

Humbert,   Aime 656 

Humboldt 387 


782 


INDEX. 


Irsamrul 

Idolatry  and  the  ]-(ible 

Iilol,  Emerald,  579;  Sleeping   .    . 

Idol   of    Buddha  

Idols  and  Koran 

Ilii 

Imam 

Itiari 

Incarnations   of   A'ir.b.nu 

Incas  

India,  92,  532;  Missions  in  .  .  .  . 
Indian  Tradition  of  Deluge  .  .  . 
Indians  of  America,  363  ;  Legends 

Initiation  Ceremony 

Insect-god 

Ise 

Ishtar 

Izanagi  and  Izanami 


Jacob 

Jagannath  

Jains 518, 

Jriiius 

Japanese   Customs 

Japanese  Gods  

Japanese    Pilgrims 669, 

Japanese  Poem 

Japanese  Shintoism,  94;  Buddhism, 
Japanese  stoiy  of  Creation  .... 

Japanese  Superstitions 

Japan,  Mission  in 

Jesuit  Missionaries 

Jesus   and   Buddha,   509-512;   and 

Koran 

Jimmu    Tenno Z^Z' 

Jingu   Kogo 

Jogees 

Jonas  

Joong 

Joshua 

Joss-stick 461, 

Jove 

Judge  of   Hell 

Judgment 

Jiidson,   A 

JucLson,  Emily  C 402, 

Juggernaut 

Jiimmah   Musjid 

Juno 

Jupiter 164, 


Page    I 

99  ! 

74 
579 
509 
738 
127 
742 

703 
299 

383 

773 

72 

367 
523 
349 

130 
308 

138 
233 
532 
180 
709 

703 
709 
709 
656 

307 
712 

771 
666 

737 
319 
687 

532 
535 
654 
138 
620 
176 
700 

739 
767 

555 

754 
178 
177 


Kaaba 721 

Kaang 346 

Kaffirs 351 

Kakavanna,    Kuig 529 

Kali 240 

Kamakura 661,693 

^-andy 553 


Page 

Karens 402,  555 

Karnak 113 

Keshub  Chunder  Sen 212 

Khadija 723 

Kin-mu 654 

Kitchen,  God  of 493 

Kitsune 703 

Kobe 668,  687 

Kobo  Daishi 657,  665 

Koran 734,  737 

Koutub 757 

Krishna 233 

Kronos 154 

Kum-Fa 637 

Kuslian  Monastery 622 

Kwanon,    661 ;     Temple    of,    673 ; 

Picture  of 680 

Kwante,  God  of  War 439 

Kwan-Yin 631,  645 

Laban 138 

Lama,  600 ;   Grand 607 

Lamaism 598 

Lamaist  Bible 609 

Lao-Tsze 416 

Lenormant II9 

Leonowens,  Mrs.  A 583 

Leper  King 595 

Letters,  God  of 438 

Leyden 230 

Living  Worships 86 

Longfellow,  H.  W 367,  61 1 

Lotus  Eaters l6i 

Luther,  R.  M 402 

Luxor 114 

Ma-chu 494,  498,  638 

Maclear,  G.  F 1 85 

Magi 410 

Mahawanso 554 

Mahinda 540,  549 

Malayo-Polynesians 387 

Mandarin  of  China 615 

Mani  Padee 608 

Manu's   Laws 293 

Mara 508,  519 

Marriage   in    Japan .710 

Mason,  Francis 555 

Master  Thief,  Stories  of 37 

Matsuri •  704 

Maulmain   Pagoda 565 

Mecca 721,727,  752,  763 

Medicine  Men 364 

Medina 725 

Mcmnon 114 

Mencius 475 

Mendes 104 

Mendicants,  Buddhist 523 


INDEX. 


783 


Page 
Mercy,  Goddess  of,  .  632,  661,  673,  680 

Merodach 130 

Meteor-gods 58 

Mexican  Tradition   of   Early  Ages, 

43;  of  Deluge 70 

Michell,  N 210 

Mikado  of  Japan 657 

Mikado's  Crest 317 

Milton,  J 138 

Minerva 179 

Ming-ti 611 

Missionary  and  non-missionary  Re- 
ligions       82 

Missionary  work,  Christian,  767 ;  in 
Japan  and  China,  771 ;  in  Thibet, 
772  ;  in  Siam,  Bunnah,  Assam  and 
India,  773;    in  Turkey,  775;  in 

Africa 776 

Mnevis 104 

Mohammed 

Mohammedanism 87,  95,  522 

Mohammedans 210 

Mohurrim 764 

Moloch 143 

Monasteries  of  China 646 

Monks,    Buddhist,    525;    Burmese, 

571;  of  Thibet 600 

Monk's  Monument ,  .    650 

Monto  Priests,  668;  Creed  of.    .    .    673 

Monuments,    Ancient 50 

Moon-god 

Moses 

Moslem  Boy 752 

Moslems 719 

Mosque  of  Omar 730 

Mosques,  741  ;   Worship  in.    .    .    .    747 

Mother's  Memorial 715 

Mother,  The  Goddess 490 

Mouhot,   H 592 

Mountain,  Sacred  Japaaese  .    .  329,  708 

Mpomo 358 

Muir,  Sir  W 735 

Muller,  F.  Max,  340,  407,  513,  517,  668 

Muller,  J.  G., 362 

Mummies 104 

Music  lesson  of  Confucius  ....  450 
Mystic  sentence  of  Thibet  ....  606 
Myths  of  Greece 159 

Nagkon  Wat 592 

Nanking 611,  621 

Naoroji 414 

Nara 699 

Nats 530,  566 

Nature- worship,  Begin-iiing  of .    .    .       51 

Ndengei 389 

Nebo 130 

Nebuchadnezzar 121 


Nergal 130 

New   Testament 514 

New  Year's  Day  in  Japan  ....  704 

Niam-Niams 347 

Nichiren 658 

Nick,  Old J9S 

Nigban 517 

Nio , 677 

Nirvana ....517 

Nitsukis 703 

Nixes 206 

Nobunaga 665 

Numa 177 

Oannes 12S 

Oceanica 387 

Odyssey 255,  162 

Old  Boy 424 

Olympus J53 

Omar 729 

Omens 712 

Om  Mani  Padmi  Hum 606 

Ongole 272 

Original  and  Reformed  Religions  .  82 

Ormazd 409,  410 

Osaka 704 

Osiris I03 

Othman 732 

Oudh,  King  of 594 

Pagoda,  Shway-da-Goxg  of  Ran- 
goon,  557  ;  of  Mauln-iain,  565  ;  of 

Wat  Chang,  Siam 576 

Pagodas,    122;    of  India,    269;    of 
Bumiah,  560;  the  Seven,  565;  of 

China 620 

Pan  is  dead 85 

Papuans 387 

Paradise  of  Buddha,   517;    of   Mo- 
hammed     51S,  738 

Parseeism 88,  407 

Pareees 407 

Parsee   Worship 414 

Patagonians 365,  378 

Patna,  Council   of 527 

Paul,  St 164,770 

Pearly   Emperor 431; 

Pechaburi 596 

Peking 461,  626,  652 

Persia 408 

I'eru 372,  2,^2, 

Peruvian  Tradition  of  Early  Ages  .       43 
Peter,  St.,  Statue  of,  in  Siam  .    .    .     584 

Petsi,  King 657 

Phidian   Jupiter 164 

Pilgrimage  to   Mecca 763 

Pilgrim,  Japanese 669,  673 

Plagues  of  Egypt 139 


784 


hWDEX. 


Page 

Pliny 189 

Poe,  Edgar 578 

Poison-god 394 

Polyphemus 162 

Pombi 344 

Pompeii 183 

Pondicb^rrv 270 

Pongyee,  L:-i.-Tie.se  Monks  ....  571 

Poor  Mason 39 

Pope 497 

Porcelain  Tower 611,  621 

Prayers,  Sale  of 616 

Praying  for  rain 344 

Praying-wheels  in   Thibet,  605 ;    in 

China 649 

Priests 651 

Priest's  lament 656 

Priest's  trick 35° 

Proposed  treatment 87 

Proverbs  and  Precepts,  Chinese  .    .  431 

Pyramids 1^7 

Queen  of  Heaven 497 

Ra 102 

Rahanda 5^9 

Raiden 3^8,  319 

Pv.ailroad  in  Japan 662 

Rain,  Praying  for 344 

Rajaratnacari 554 

Ramayana 594 

Rammolnm   Roy 212,  221 

Rangoon 557 

Reed,  Sir  Edw 305 

Refuges,  The  Three 5^4 

Relics  of  Buddhists 540 

Religions,  missionary  and  non-mis- 
sionary; dead  and  living;  original 

and  living 38 

Religions  of  the  World 500 

Renunciation,  The  Great 506 

Rewards  and  Punishments,  Book  of,  430 

Rhampsinitos 38 

Rhys-David  ....  514,  5-4,  537,  603 

Riches,   God  of 44° 

Rogers,  Captain 5-9 

Romans,  Paul's  letter  to 1S2 

Ruins  of    Egypt •    "      98 

Sabellian  REi.ir.ioN 175 

Sabines 175 

Sacred  animals   of  T^gypt  ....     106 

Sacred  books  of  Japan 306 

Sacred  Bo-tree,  507,  539;  of  Ceylon,  546 

Sacrifices,   Human 192,  225 

Sage,  The  Little 475 

Sakva  Muni 5^- 

Sailois'    Goddess 494 


Page 
Saint  Hilaire,  B.   .     .....    500,  510 

Sale   of   Prayers 616 

Samoyedes 5^ 

Sanchi  Tope 53^ 

Sangha 5^3 

Sanno 67S 

Sanskrit  stories 3°^ 

Sargon,    Palace   of 132 

Satan 737 

Saxon    Paganism 197 

Sayings  of  Confucius 456 

Schaff,  P 748 

Schiller,  F.  Von 150 

Schlegel,  F.  Von Zl) 

School-boy  of    China 460 

Schoolcraft,  H o^'^ 

Scottish  story  of  the  Shifty  Lad  .    .       40 

Sea-God 7°7 

Sebek 104 

Secret   Blessings,  Book  of  ...    .     433 
Sects  of  Hindus,  21S;   Buddhists  in 

Japan 667 

Serpent  Idol 59 

Set 103 

Seven'Pagodas 5*^5 

Shakespeare 203 

Shamanism 37 1 »  555 

Shanghai 421 

Shang-te '1,654 

Shans 555 

Shasters 298 

Shiba,  Temple  of 682 

Shinran 662 

Shin-Shin  Sect 657,  668 

Shinto    Symbols 68 1 

Shintoism 94,  656 

Shoes,  Putting  off   .  ^ 5S7 

Shrines  of  Ise 2>2)- 

Shway-da-Gon:;  Pagoda 557 

Siamese  Buddhism,  575;  Missions  .     773 

Siamese  White  Elephant 5S8 

Sigourney.  Mrs.  L.  H 7^7 

Sikhs 256 

Sioux ^ ■   3-^5 

Siva 2it'. 

Sleeping  Idol 579 

Smith,  Sidney 769 

Song  of  tlie   Threshcr> loi 

Sotheby 1 73 

Soul,  Bringing  home  the 483 

Southern   migration 9- 

Southey 232 

Spanish  story  of  the  Poor  ?.Ia.son  .       39 

Sphinx 97,   112 

Spires '-^ 

Spirit,  Great 364 

Spirit-house 39° 

Stanley,  II.  M 35^ 


IXDEX. 


7S5 


Stoddard,  R.  H 4-,o,  460 

Stonehenge 1S8 

Stories  from  the  Sanskrit 301 

Stories  of  the  Master  Thief  ...  37 

St.    Paul 164 

St.  Sophia 74S,  753 

Student,  The  Tired 475 

Suddhodana •    •  502 

Sun-child 658 

Sun-goddess  of  Japan 313 

Sun,  Temple  of,  in  Peking  ....  467 

Sun-worship  of  Indians 372 

Superstitions,    Japanese 712 

Suttee 231,  296 

Tae-Ping  Rebellion 621 

Taj  Malial 758 

Talisman  of  Long  Life 424 

Taoism 416 

Taoist    Books 428 

Tao-te-king 428 

Tartar  Woman  • 601 

Tartarus 153 

Taylor,  B 739,  741 

Tektha 567 

Temple  of  Horrors  .......  642 

Tengou 707 

Tennent,  Sir  E 546,  548 

Tennyson,  Alfred 77 

Teraphim 57,  138 

Teshu  Luml)0   Monastery    ....  602 

Testament,  New 514 

Thibet,  598;  Mission  in 772 

Thor 200 

Thoth 104 

Thousand  Lamss'  Temple  ....  626 

Three  Baskets •.  513 

Three  Precious  Buddhas 625 

Three  Pure  Ones 434 

Threshers,  Song  of loi 

Thunder,  Japanese  God  of  .    .   318,319 

Tien-chi 56 

Tientsin 652 

Tinnivelly 213 

.Tired  Student 475 

Tissa 540 

Titans 153 

Tokio 673, 6S2 

Tooth,   Buddha's 553 

Topes,  Buddhist 508,  535 

Torii 332 

Tortures  of   Holy   Men 283 

Towers 122 

Traditions  of  man  in  early  ages,  43 ; 

of  creation,  62,  305  ;  of  deluge  .  66 

Trees,  Sacred 712 


Page 

Triad,  Assyrian 128 

Trick   of  Priests 348 

Tripitaka 513,  545,  548 

Tsong-khapa .   •    •    • 599 

Tung-cho 620 

Turkish  Mission 775 

Tussaud,  Madame 681 

UiMKULULU 347 

Umritsur 256 

Universe,  Greek  conception  of,  15;; 

Hindu 246 

University  at  Cairo 7-20 

Varuna 216 

Vedas 49,  54;  92,  2S6,  548 

Vesta 179 

Vinaya 5H 

Vindya  Mountains 507 

"Vinton,  Mrs 406 

Virgil  ...._..._ 173 

Vishnu,  216;  incarnations  of  .    .    .  299 

Visions  of  Gautama 504 

Visparad 414 

Walhalla 199 

War,  God  of 439 

Wat  Chang  Pagoda 576 

Water-lamps 653 

Wat  P'hra  Keau 579 

Wax-works 6S1 

Wellington,  Duke  of 769 

White  Elephant  of  Siam  .    .    .    579,588 

Whittier,  J.  G 53.  53^ 

Wilkinson loi 

Williams,  M 54 

Williams,  S.W 416,482 

Woden I99 

Woman,  according  to  Hinduism,  227, 

295  ;  and  Mohammedanism  .    .      748 
Wu-Wei-Kiau 654 

Xaa'ier 666 

Xisuthrus 66 

Yasnas 413 

Yasodhara 508 

Ycbisu 6S7 

Yema,  God  of  Hell 688 

Yezzo 716 

Yuah 403 

Zenanas 228,  295 

Zend  Avesta 43,  49,  41 1 

Zoroaster 409 

Zulus 345,  347 


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